


A Bright Light in a Dark Place

by overwhelmed_with_joy



Series: Governor Stilinski [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Blind Character, Deputy Derek Hale, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, High School, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Multi, Pining, Prince Stiles, Sassy Isaac
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-29
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-01-10 08:12:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 48
Words: 133,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1157212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overwhelmed_with_joy/pseuds/overwhelmed_with_joy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcome to a world were magic and the supernatural aren't only living in the same town but are you neighbors. Welcome to the town where witches and werewolves are known an stealing your newspaper. Welcome to the new age where old magic is alive. Welcome to Beacon Hills</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to add any comments or changes you think would make this story better.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi everybody, thank you for being patient. I was getting ready for my PCAT and was studying like crazy. Here is the first official chapter to the story which gives some background on the AU. Feel free to send criticism or ideas on what you would like to see.

“Now class, can anyone tell me what important event is happening this weekend?” A tall woman with short black hair said asked her 3rd period history class. Almost instantly a hand shot up in the air. “Anyone besides Mr. Stilinski, Ms. Carson how about you?” the teacher asked, ignoring the boy in the second row for a girl with red hair and violet eyes. The girl looked liked the question was ridiculous and to be fair it kinda was.  
“Saturday is the day of Homage Mrs. Weer.”  
“And why is the Day of Homage important?” asked Mrs. Weer  
“ The Day of Homage is the day that we remember the events that led to the integration of the magical and non-magical communities.”  
“Excellent Ms. Carson. Now can anyone tell me what those events were? Not you Mr. Stilinski, how about you Mr. Colburn?”

The class turned to look at the tall and quiet boy with boy hair and blue eyes with gold circles who sat in the back of the classroom who was reading from the textbook. He jumped when he noticed the class looking at him. He answered quickly.  
“Um… It started with World War II. The Nazi Party has already started their genocide and had invaded most of Europe. The allied Nations were planning an assault on Europe to fight back against the Nazis. Most of their plans and strategies had failed up until then and this was a last ditch attempt to level the playing field.”  
“Correct, why did the Allied forces face difficulty against the Nazis?”  
“Because of Werewolves.” Came the reply  
“Explain”  
Another hand shot up. This one belonged to an Asian girl. Mrs. Weer looked at the girl  
“The Nazi party had discovered the existence of werewolves and other shifters by accident before the war. There was no knowledge of how they did but they did anyways. The Nazi party convinced the werewolves and other shifters that they were the superior race were above the other supernatural races. The shifters believed the Nazi propaganda and decided that they were going to join the Nazi party in eliminating the other races as well in order to show their dominance. The shifters became the Nazi party secret soldiers and were used to kill off enemy soldiers on the battlefield in exchange for the Nazis capturing and killing the other supernatural creatures.”  
“Thank you Willow. There was something special about the shifters used by the Nazi party, what was it?”  
“They were all females.” someone called out  
“Exactly, the Nazi party used female shifters due to the fact females are the ones that can change their enemies with the bite and the Nazis wanted to use that as a way to recruit soldiers. Unfortunately, this propaganda spread across the rest of the world as well. Shifters from other countries were invading and killing off other supernatural creatures to show their dominance. This lead to what was known as the Days of Blood. The United States had the second largest slaughter of supernatural creatures after Europe. Now what was the last attempt at leveling the playing field and why does it lead of the Day of Homage?” Mrs. Weer looked over at her students and only the boy from the second row had his hand up. Mrs. Weer sighed, “Go ahead Stiles.”

The boy called Stiles eagerly starting speaking quickly.  
“The allied forces were going to use casters. The magical population of Europe were getting sick and tired of shifters and the Nazis being bigoted assbutts and decided to kick butt. The witches, wizards, druids, warlocks, sorcerers, magicians, and the other magic folk, “ they boy wiggled his fingers like he was casting a spell and the class started giggling “ came together and told the allied forces that they were going to help them fight. The casters used their mojo to make it impossible for the shifters to shifts and allowed the Allied Forces to attack the Nazi party. Since the shifters couldn't shift, the other supernatural creatures started attacking the shifters in retaliation. The casters stopped this too since they believed too many of their kind had already died.” Stiles stopped to take in a breath. He had forgotten to during his rant. 

“With the help of the casters, the Allies won and beat the Nazis black and blue. The humans and the casters wanted to make sure something like this couldn't happen again anywhere so they decided to live together so they would always have each others back. So the strongest casters were placed in charge of different areas of the world. The Day of Homage is the day that the supernatural community pays thanks to the casters who prevented them from going extinct.”

“Thank you Stiles, that was most helpful.”  
“No problems teach.”  
Mrs. Weer gave Stiles a pointed look but continued.  
“As you guys know, we here in California are under the protection of the Governor of the West Coast. The Day of Homage this year will be particularly important as this year is the year we get a new Governor.”  
The class stayed quiet as they all turned to look at Stiles in the second row.  
As the new generation of Casters, It is expected that each and every one of you help the Governor keep the West Coast a safe and hate free place to live. “  
As Mrs. Weer was finishing her speech, the bell rang.  
“Don’t forget, I expect to see all of you at the Ball on Saturday and don’t forget new student orientation is this Monday.”  
The students filed out of the classroom. Stiles from the second row was extremely happy as he left. Saturday was his 16th birthday and the day he became the new Governor of the West Coast.


	2. BHCA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter formally introduces three OCs who are going to be regular characters. It also introduces the concept of warders that will be explained in more details in the next chapter.  
> It would be a great help to me if I could here some feedback for ideas you would like to see and what I can do to make this better. Shout out to everyone whose left kudos. You guys are awesome and I love you.

Beacon Hills is just like any other small town in America. It has it’s small town charm, local mom and pop businesses, the local eateries where the kids work after school, it’s has the local high schools and the rivalries between the schools, Friday night football games, saturday morning farmer’s markets, a lake and park that families go to to relax. All the things normal people relate to the small towns you see on tv. What makes Beacon Hills so special and different from other small towns is the magic school.  
As the seat of power for the Western United States, Beacon Hills is home to Beacon Hills Caster Academy; the second best school of magic in the United States (following Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies). It is here at BHCA that the casters of the next generation are taught how to use their powers and abilities to promote peace and harmony between the natural and supernatural communities. Where anyone with the potential and the right amount of hard work and dedication can become a caster. That being said, and to the disappointment of the students, this isn’t Hogwarts. While there are classes such as charms and potions, there is also math, science, history and the ever dreaded PE. 

“Stilinski, stop spacing out and pay attention before…” Bam! Thump “Never mind”  
Coach Finstock runs over to Stiles after being hit in the face with soccer ball. In usual Stilinski fashion, Stiles had fallen over from the hit and again when he tried to stand up.  
“Stilinski, how in the Seven Hell’s are you ever going to survive the real world if you don’t pay attention and get hit in the head on a weekly basis.”Coach Finstock said while trying to give Stiles a hand up.  
“Coach, it’s not my fault. I was thinking about new uses of protection spells in order to deter oncoming projectiles from deputies and… you don’t believe me do you?”  
“Nope.”  
“Fudge.”  
Coach Finstock shook his head at the boy with a resigned sigh. How was this boy going to lead the people if he has head damage. Though to be fair, he isn't any more clumsy than the other people on the field. The girl who had kicked the ball had fallen over as well. It was like working in a 1930’s black and white film.  
“Stilinski, leave the protection spells to Colburn and focus on the ball. I swear, it’s a good thing you already have a warder or you’d be dead by now.”  
“Hey, I resent that Coach. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I have the reflexes of a ninja.” Stiles proceeds to make ninja sounds and rather pathetic kicks and punches. Coach Finstock sighs again and picks up the soccer ball. Thankfully he was only a sub today. Finstock usually worked with the recruits training in the warder program. Those were the real athletes. Kids who knew how to get down and dirty and were always challenging each other to be the best. The pay was great too , he got paid the same as some professional coaches. It’s wasn't like he didn't like the casters. They were great kids. Accident prone and had all the athletic ability of penguins on land but good kids.  
“Listen Stilinski, I know you’re excited over about the weekend but try to survive the rest of the week first. And you Evers” The girl who had kicked the ball looked over at the coach “ try to keep both of your feet on the ground when you kick. This is soccer, not the ballet.” The girl gave a thumbs up.  
“Great now lets try this again…” 

Lunch time was always interesting at BHCA. It was the one time of the day that everyone was together. All the students had lunch at the same time regardless of grade or program. It was easier to prevent accidents that way. The cafeteria resembled a restaurant more than a cafeteria with food that actually looked like food. Stiles had just gotten his lunch of curly fries, apple juice, a triple-decker club and a homemade brownie when he spotted his peeps.  
“My peeps, how ‘s it hanging?”  
The two people at the table where the some of the same that were in his history class: Royce Colburn, a very tall lanky young man, taller than Stiles and most people for that matter, with shortest brown hair and blue eyes with gold circles in the middle - evidence of his Sidhe blood from his Irish and Scottish roots and Giselle Carson, a young woman, slightly shorter than Stiles with a dancers build with fiery red hair and violet eyes - proof of her Dutch heritage. Both of them were born casters , those who were born with magic from one or both parents, like Stiles.  
“Hello BRONISŁAW, how was PE? did you get hit in the head again?” Giselle asked while looking up from her salad.  
Stiles flinched at his given name and how easy she can pronounce it “No. I have the reflexes of a ninja.” Stiles said why placing his food at the table.  
“He means yes, Margot said he got nailed by a soccer ball by Cynthia.” Royce responds.  
Stiles promptly blows a raspberry at him. Royce smiles at him and continues as Stiles starts to eat.  
“Stiles, is it alright if I bring a date to your birthday on Saturday? I’ll need an extra invitation” The other two stare at him. Stiles grins like a mad man.  
“Totally bro. Did Chase finally grow a pair and ask you out? Dude, that is awesome but I’ll expect an awesome gift from you.”  
“ Thanks Stiles, and don’t worry, I have been working on a great gift for you for a while now.”  
As they were talking, a pair of students saw the casters and headed over quietly.  
A tall young man with raven black hair dyed with red streaks , piercings along one ear, grey eyes and a very muscular build (think wrestler or boxer as oppose to football player) and a beautiful young woman with warm brown eyes , brown hair and a slim build sat down with the casters. The woman sat down next to Stiles without him noticing while the man stood behind Royce and tipped back his chair.  
“ Whatcha talkin bout babe? How devilishly handsome and manly I am?”  
All three casters jumped at the voice. The girl laughed and Stiles turned to gawk at her.  
“Allison, when did you get here?”  
“A couple of seconds ago, none of you noticed.” Allison said simply “ Oh and Chase wanted to surprise Royce.”  
The man called Chase tipped back Royce’s chair and leaned down to kiss him passionately. Royce turned beet red but kissed back just as passionately.  
“That is so cute. I wish I had a boyfriend you’d give me a spiderman kiss.”  
“Don’t we all Stiles, don’t we all.” Giselle and Allison said in union. Chase then pushed Royce back to the table and sat down next to him.  
“Now that the warders are here, we can begin the official business.” Stiles proclaimed with enthusiasm, “My birthday party. Giselle, Allison, and Royce have already RSVPed along with all the others from school and now we know Chase will be attending too.” Chase looked up and over to Royce who blushed and nodded. Chase smiled. “But who else should I invite?” Stiles looked around questioningly.  
“Well, did you invite those bred casters you keep going on about? The ones who are starting next Monday?” Giselle asked while roasting her chicken for her salad while it was on the fork.  
“Yep and I’m super excited for you to meet them finally. Scott is like my brother from another mother. But that's obvious, I mean who should I invite from the supernatural community?” Stiles asked.  
Royce looked up like he knew something no one else did, a look all casters are familiar with.  
“I know who should should invite.”  
“Who dude?”  
“Roman Hale”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BRONISŁAW: Polish form of Slavic Bronislav, meaning "glorious protector."


	3. Meet the Warders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter introduces the concept of a warder which I stole from the Wheel of Time Series. I claim no ownership of the idea but thought it was really cool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need ideas for the casters in the series who will be present. Most casters are girls and any ideas for them would be greatly appreciated. I'll take ideas for warders too.   
> I realize that I am terribly at updating on a regular basis and I'm trying to fix that. I will try with all my might to get one chapter up a week. Any and all comments, kudos, and bookmarks are appreciated with all my heart.

“Roman Hale? Seriously?” Allison asked skeptically   
“Seriously.” Royce nodded back  
“Why in the world would Stiles invite Roman Hale to his birthday party?”   
“um guys?”  
“I agree with Royce, I think Stiles should invite Roman.” Giselle continued cooking her chicken.   
“Guys?”  
“But that could be disastrous. There wouldn't be enough warders or deputies around for the necessary protection if things got out of hand.” Allison countered  
Suddenly the table started to spin like a top.   
“What the hell…”  
“Now that I have your attention, who the hell is Roman Hale and why should I invite him to my party?” Stiles asked sternly as he made the table spin.   
Royce’s eyes glowed a faint blue and the table stopped spinning. “Real mature Stiles. And to answer your question, Roman Hale is the dude who sits behind you in survival skills.”  
“The one who looks like a G.I.Joe?”  
“No, Stiles. That’s Josh. Roman is the guy with the the ponytail. The guy who answers all the questions you should know the answers too but don’t.” Royce started to eat his lunch, a calzon.   
“Oh, him. I didn't know his name was Roman. I thought he was being called a Roman. That makes more sense now.” Stiles starts on his fries. His friends just sigh and shake their heads.   
Chase looks a bit confused, “Why would inviting him be a good idea or a bad one. If he attends the school, doesn't that make him a caster or warder? Wouldn't having him be a good idea to increase security?”  
Allison answers as all the casters were stuffing their faces with their respective lunches.   
“Royce and Giselle think it’s a good idea because of who he is. I think it’s a bad idea because of who he’s related to. And before you ask Stiles,” Stiles looks up from his fries “ Roman Hale himself isn't a threat. He’s a senior in the warder program and ready to be bonded. I think it’s a bad idea Chase because who he might bring along.”   
Giselle rolls her eyes “Allison, I realize that as Stiles warder, it’s your job to be paranoid and vigilant, but do you really that he would willing bring them to a gather of the strongest casters in the West Coast.” Giselle turns her attention to Stiles who silently was stuffing his sandwich down his throat “Stiles, Royce is right in thinking you should invite him. It would be a sign of good faith and that you don’t hold any of the old biases. That and all the girls in class would bring better gifts if they thought you were giving them a chase to bond with a warder.”  
the prospects of cool gifts got Stiles attention. “Sweet, cool gifts are awesome and always appreciated. I’ll do it”  
Allison shakes her head but doesn't say anything while lunch continues. 

After lunch is probably the hardest part of the day for the casters of BHCA. Not only because of the food coma some of the students put themselves in, but because fifth and sixth period are the skills classes. The skills classes are classes designed to help casters with specific abilities master these abilities and for other students to learn important skills such as how to survive in the wild, how to defend oneself against another supernatural creature, how to cook, to change a tire and fix a car . It’s also the time when casters who are eligible to bond with a warder get the chance to see what being bonded is like. The skills classes are joint classes as the warders attend them as well. 

The formal name of the class was Partnership Skills and was designed to help the students develop the skills necessary to help each other and work in teams that would eventually lead to bonded pairs of caster and warders. It was originally designed to help the warders understand the importance of protecting a caster instead of simply seeing it as a babysitting job. It was also an opportunity for the male warders to show off for the casters. 

“Good afternoon class.” A tall and well built man with a military haircut, salt and pepper mustache stood in the gym looking at his small class of students.   
“Good Afternoon Captain Glass” The class responded.  
“This is the first official class for Partnership Skills. A chance for you to develop into better human beings than you already are. A chance to prove to me and more important, yourselves, that you are capable of doing by working together.” Captain Glass said with the authority and sternness of a drill sergeant. Glass looks over at a bunch of boys who look like they should be a football team at any other school“ Now as most of you are new recruits in the warder program, this will also be an opportunity for you get a better understanding of what facing down magic is like. Now I want you to get ready for your first class as you will getting a surprise today.”  
The boys starting whooping and hollering, bro-fisting and punching the air. The only one who didn't was Allison who sat over on the bench getting her bow ready. She smiled as she looked at the would be warders. Most of the boys were talking about how they were going to be kicking butt and how they were going to be awesome as warders. The warder program was unofficially started in World War II when soldiers would protect the casters as they were working their magic on the shifters and unable to protect themselves. The soldiers would follow the casters all over the country as they worked their magic. It was difficult at first as most of the soldiers had never seen magic used before and where untrusting of it. After a few missions proved that having the human soldiers around made it easier and safer for the casters to work, the casters decided to make it a more permanent arrangement. Each caster would get one soldier to protect them against the things that would kill the caster and the caster would help the soldier with their lives. Thus the idea of warders came into being. In the United States, only two school taught warders at a high school level; Beacon Hill Caster Academy, and the Colorado School of Sorcery. Otherwise, warders were taught in a similar way as the military with the same hierarchy.

Captain Glass looked over at Allison and smiled. As the only bonded Warder at the school, she was an example to all the other warders on what a successful warder looked like. It didn't hurt she was a second generation warder as well. Allison smiled at her instructor and stood up to join the boys. none of them questioned why Allison was here. She has some of the best marks in all of the fields from combat to first aid. The only reason she wasn't in a higher bracket was due to her age. 

“Now boys,” Allison started with a smirk, “We don’t want to spoil the surprise by being too rowdy now do we?”  
Chase, who was also in the class, looked over at her. He knew that tone of voice. That was the tone of voice she used when she knew something no one else did.   
Chase himself wasn't bonded yet but was eligible to be bonded. That meant that he had shown the warder general that he was competent enough to protect a caster and Chase knew who he wanted to be bonded too. He and Royce had only been formally dating for about 4 months but Chase had wanted to be Royce’s warder since he met the boy as freshman. It didn't bother him at first that Royce was openly gay when they first met, but after some awkward moments, some slight flirting and what was quite possibly the most embarrassing thing Chase had ever done or seen, the Colburn heir was his boyfriend. The problem, though, was that Royce was a Colburn.   
“What’s the surprise?” One boy asked, All the other boys started asking all at the same time.   
“Calm down lads. Here’s your surprise. ALRIGHT YOU WITCHES, GET IN HERE.”  
The back doors opened and the warders turned around. In walked the casters who were eligible for bonding. Ten girls walked into the gym. Each of them was as beautiful as the model of a Cosmo or Vogue cover. At the end of the pack stood two very lanky boys.   
“Lads, meet the casters you will be working with during your time here in class. You will each get a turn to work with each of them. Well, except for Stilinski. He’s already bonded.” Captain Glass pointed out. “Now lads, let’s show them what you are capable of.” and thus the class began. 

“So, why is inviting Roman Hale to by B-day party a bad idea?” Stiles asked Royce while they watch the warder recruits stretch and flex and try to be impressive towards the casters who politely gawked at the man meat in front of them.   
“Do you seriously not know or are you pulling a Stilinski on me?”  
“A what?”  
“You know, that thing you do when you think you have an answer but not sure it’s the right one so you asked someone who does have the answer.We call it a Stilinski.”  
“I have no idea what you’re talking about bro, I always have the correct answer, but seriously, why is Roman bad news?”  
Royce gives Stiles a flat look but continues anyways. “Roman Hale is a Hale.” Stiles still looks lost “You know, like Peter Hale?”  
“Peter Hale? my mother’s seeing eye dog?”   
“yes, Stiles.”  
“But he’s cool. He makes sure my mom doesn't walk in front of traffic and stuff.”  
“Yes, Stiles, but you know what they are right?”  
“Dogs?”  
“Oh for the love of….and somehow you’re in the top 5 % of our class. Stiles, the Hales are…”  
“Shit, DUCK!”  
While Royce and Stiles were talking, some of the warders were practicing with the grenades when one of pins got accidentally pulled. The recruit carrying it panicked and threw it away, towards the bleachers where the casters were sitting. Allison noticed it and tried to get Stiles’ attention but she wasn't loud enough. The other casters saw it as it was flying towards them and screamed. The grenade went off.   
BOOM. It shook the gym.   
Captain Glass, Allison, Chase and the other warders ran to the bleachers while the smoke was being cleared.   
“I killed them, Oh my gawd, I killed them.”  
“No one panic until we can assess the damage.” Glass said to control the recruits  
Most of the recruits looked scared. Their first chance to impress casters just exploded in their faces. Literally.   
“But what if they’re dead. I just killed ten casters.”  
“Actually, there were 12 casters if you were paying attention and one of them was a Colburn.” Captain Glass said   
“So?”  
“So,” Chased continued for the captain, “look behind you.”  
The recruits turned around as the last of the smoke was cleared and saw a dome of faint blue light surround the casters as they were trying to shield themselves from the blast.


	4. A good man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get to meet Stiles daddy. YAY!!!!

John Stilinski always considered himself a decent person. He loved his family, paid his taxes, held the door open for the people behind him, did his job to the best of his ability every single day. Sure he isn't the most patient of people and he like to eat things that aren't the healthiest for him but who didn't. He didn't even freak out (much) when his wife told him she was a witch when they got married or when he discovered that his little boy had magic too. He’d come to accept the weird and usually things that happen in Beacon Hills due to the supernatural community. John Stilinski was a decent person who believed in the best in people no matter who or what they were and that they should all be treated fairly and with equality. That’s what made him so good at his job. There were few things John disliked about his life in Beacon Hills but getting calls from his son’s school was one of them.

(1812 overture plays, caller id shows Stiles name)  
“Hello Son”  
“Hey Daddio, how’s work?”  
“Fine, how’s school”  
“Great, great, just peachy, couldn't be better.”  
 _Oh God, Stiles is in trouble again._  
“Stiles, what happened? what did you do?”  
“Do? I did nothing. Why do you automatically assume I did something. That is totally unfair and against my rights to be innocent until proven guilty.”  
“Stiles…”  
“OK, the school is going to call you in about 10 seconds and I don’t want you to panic.”  
John’s office phone starts to ring exactly 10 seconds later. _You’d think I be use to how he can predict that kind of stuff._  
“Dad, when you pick it up, don’t panic. I’m and everyone else is fine. Got to go. Love ya, Bye”  
“Stiles wait..” Sighing as Stiles hangs up, John prepares himself for the storm that he thinks is about to hit. He picks up his office phone.  
“Hello, Sheriff Stilinski speaking.”  
“Good afternoon Sheriff, how are you this afternoon.” A posh and sophisticated baritone voice came from the other end.  
“I’m well Dr. Greybuck, what can I do for you?”  
“To be honest, Sheriff, I’m not exactly sure. There was an accident at the school today.”  
“And that’s strange how?”  
A strained chuckle came out the other end “It’s not strange that an explosion occurred.”  
 _An explosion?_ “what’s strange is what kind of accident it was. Sir, someone tried to kill your son and 11 of his classmates today during fifth period.”  
“I’m sorry, I think I misheard you Dr. Greybuck, did you just say someone tried to explode my son and 11 of his classmates?”  
“Yes, Sheriff. I did. It was during Partnership Skills. A new warder recruit was trying out the equipment and accidently activated a live grenade and threw it.”  
“A live grenade? Why the hell was there a working grenade in a class for recruits? Never mind, I’m coming over there.”  
“Very good Sheriff, I will prepare for your arrival.” click. the phone call ended.  
John sat at his desk in shock. Someone had tried to kill his son at the school. That wasn’t suppose to happen.  
“Fiona.” John called out of his office  
A middle aged woman with honey colored hair and a slightly plump build looked into John’s office.  
“Yes Sheriff.”  
“Call any deputies that are on the schedule. I’m going to BHCA. There was an attack on the student body.”  
The woman called Fiona gasped and brought her hand to her chest. “Is everyone alright? What happened?”  
“I don’t know but I plan to find out. The deputies please.”  
“Of course Sheriff.” Fiona went over to her desk outside the sheriff’s office and picked up her radio.  
“Attention all deputies. Any and all available in the area are to report to Beacon Hill Caster Academy as soon as possible. This is a direct order from Sheriff John Stilinski. I repeat, a direct order from the Sheriff.”

As Fiona was calling for back-up, the Sheriff was walking out to his car. While he was exiting onto the main road, his cell phone rang again. The caller ID said home. The Sheriff activated the Bluetooth.  
“Hi Claude.”  
“Ukocany, is everything alright? I felt Stiles panic spike earlier.” A light and beautiful female voice spoke with a slight polish accent. _She never could give it up entirely._  
“I honestly don’t yet, I’m heading over the school now to find out. I’ll update you when I get home.”  
“Should I ask Christopher to come over as well? Allison might have been hurt and he’ll worry until he finds out.”  
“That shouldn't be necessary. Glass will be there. Claude I’ll call you back, I’m at the school. I love you.”  
“Ja też cię kocham. Please be careful.”

John hung up the Bluetooth as he drove into the parking lot of the magic school. (Yes magic school has a parking lot. You need a permit to fly a broom around the town and not everyone can teleport or apparate). john walked over the front of the building where a young boy with horns waited for him at the front gate. The boy didn't say a word but motioned for John to follow him. John complied and was lead through the school grounds to the warders gym. John could already tell this was bigger than he hoped it was. A giant hole was present in the side of one of the walls where a grenade went off. The area had been blocked off by rugged looking men and women. _The warders make a better security team than the deputies do._ John noticed a tall man with charcoal colored hair and goatee in a three piece blue suit talking to Captain Glass.  
“Gentlemen, could someone explain to me what exactly happened.” John’s voice became commanding as he approached the two men. Despite the fact they were both taller than him, Captain Glass snapped to attention and Dr. Greybuck stood straighter. John liked the effect his Sheriff voice had on people. Captain Glass answered the question.  
“Sheriff, Sir, as Horatio mentioned in his phone call, there was an attempted attack on the casters. Someone switched out my practice grenades with a real one and we weren't aware of it until it actually exploded. I do apologize Sir. This shouldn't of happened and I am deeply sorry to have dragged you out here for something a simple inspection would have prevented.”  
John looked a bit tense at the explanation and at the captain's obvious guilt for the incident.  
 _The man needs to not take things so personally._  
“Thank you captain. I appreciate your diligence but if you couldn't noticed the difference, then I’m sure no one else could either. Dr. Greybuck, my deputies will be arriving shortly and we will need to investigate the area and the incident. Could I see my son?”  
“ Of course Sheriff, the warders will make preparations for the deputies arrival.” Dr. Greybuck answered politely. “As for your son and the other casters, that might be a problem but I can personally guarantee Stiles is safe.”  
“Why?”  
“It seems Mr. Colburn can’t drop his shield yet, and your son was sitting right next to him.”

John sighed a relieved sigh. If Stiles was sitting next to Royce, it meant he was as safe as he could be and he was able to use his cell phone so he wasn't unconscious. John turned away from the two men and went towards the gym. The warders stepped aside to let him through then returned to their positions. Inside the gym the damage was just as bad as it was on the outside. Half of the bleachers were missing and there was debris from the ceiling. John could see the warder recruits over in a corner looking freaked out but alive and unharmed while two of them stood by the bleachers looking (guarding) at a dome of blue light . Allison looked up and smiled as she saw the Sheriff. She whispered something to the boy man from the look of him and that look on his face next to her and he nodded towards the Sheriff. _I recognize him , that’s Fiona’s grandson Chase. He’s gotten bigger since the last time I saw him. Fiona mentioned something about him getting ready to bond._ The Sheriff walked over to the dome and stood next to the young warders.  
“Allison, it’s good to see you safe. Your father was worried.”  
“Hi Uncle John. I’m fine as you can see. Everyone is safe and accounted for. There appear to be no injured and not to much problem except for the..”  
“Hey dad!!”Allison was cut off by Stiles as he ran (tripped) down the bleachers to meet his father. “I’m glad you’re here. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine and this wasn't my fault. But as this was a traumatizing event, could you ask Dr. Greybuck to let me go home?” Stiles asked with a smile  
“I’ll ask. Stiles, why isn't the shield gone?”  
“Umm.. I think Royce broke. We heard the scream and saw the grenade coming and then Boom it exploded but somehow Royce was able to make a shield over all the casters before it exploded. He hasn't moved since though.” Stiles looked over to his friend with a concerned looked. The other casters were trying to break him out of whatever trance he was under with little success. One of the girls called to Stiles.  
“Stiles, I think he’s in wall mode. The shield isn't going to come down unless someone breaks it or he passes out.”  
Stiles looks over at his father through the dome with fear for his friend clearly in his eyes. John looks back his a look that said “Don’t worry son, everything will be fine. Dad is here.”  
John looked over at Chase and Allison “I will need you two to go outside and take the other recruits with you. It’s going to be dangerous when that shield comes down.”  
Chase looked like he was going to protest but Allison pulled him away and ordered the other recruits to leave. John turned back to the dome, “Stiles and ladies, I will need you guys to catch and carry Royce out of here in a few minutes.” He turns to Royce and spoke in a calm but authoritative tone. “Royce, this is Sheriff Stilinski. Stiles and the girls are safe and the warders are no longer in any danger, you hereby relieved of duty.”  
Royce made no motion to indicate that he heard the Sheriff but suddenly the dome of blue light disappeared and Royce slumped forward only to be caught by the girls standing around him. Stiles looked shocked as he looked between his father and friend. John just smiled thinly as deputies in uniform entered the gym and helped the girls carry Royce outside.  
“I don’t think my teachers will mind if I miss the rest of the day.” Stiles spoke quietly as he watched his classmates evacuate with the help of the deputies.  
“No Stiles, I don’t think they will.”  
John Stilinski thought himself a decent man, as decent as any man responsible for the lives of the entire caster population of the West Coast could be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ukocany - Love (Dear, Honey).  
> Ja też cię kocham - I love you too


	5. Home Again, Home Again, Jiggidy Jig

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry this chapters up late. I spent the weekend cleaning my parents house from Mother's day and haven't had time to work on this. I hope everyone did something nice for your mothers. Speaking of mothers, this chapter introduces us to Stiles Mom and some familiar faces.  
> Also, I hit over 1000 views. That's very exciting. I want to thank everyone whose read the story so far.  
> As always, I love comments and kudos. There is always room for improvement and hearing back from readers is always beneficial.

After everyone was safely evacuated, the effects of Royce’s dome of light started to fade as well. The ceiling started to fall and the bleachers started to crumple. To say it was a mess was an understatement. Thankfully, the deputies and warders made sure none of the students got near the gym. Not even casters want to mess with deputies and warders at the same time. As for Stiles request to be sent home early, Dr. Greybuck agreed, stating that all of the students involved in the accident will be excused for the rest of the day (considering there were only two periods left, it wasn't that big of a deal). Of course the Sheriff was staying, which meant that Stiles had to be escorted home by an appointed responsible adult.  
“But why can’t I drive myself home? I’m perfectly capable of driving the ten minutes it takes to get there dad.”  
“Three reasons, son: 1. you were just in an accident that could have easily killed you and you might go into shock at any moment. 2. I still don’t trust that piece of junk of a jeep and 3. I’m your father and you will do as I say or will you explain to your _mother_ why you’re arguing with the Sheriff of the West Coast.”  
That last reason caused the nearby students to ooohhh in unison. There were few people in town that argued with Claudia Stilinski. Even her own family wasn't above getting her infamous tongue lashing if they deserved it. Stiles sighed and gave his best puppy dog eyes, “Please Daddy.”  
John didn't budge an inch.  
“No.”  
“please!!!” more puppy dog eyes  
John just gave a pointed look.  
“Fine.”  
“Thank you Stiles. Now when you get home, tell your mom that I will be a little late for dinner as I have no idea how long this is going to take to figure out what happened.”  
“Yeah yeah. Whatever.” Stiles started to walk towards the parking lot  
“Love You Son.” John yelled after Stiles  
“Love You Too.” Stiles yelled over his shoulder. Allison joined him shortly afterwards as a deputy pulled up to the curb.

The drive back to the Stilinski residence was quiet. While this wouldn't be unusual for any other car ride, no car ride with Stiles was ever quiet. The deputy in charge of the escort was concerned.  
“Is anything alright back there? Is Spark Stilinski hurt? Should I go to the ER?”  
Stiles just grunted and Allison rolled her eyes. The deputy was obviously new to the force.  
 _Great, we've got a new guy._ Allison was the first to speak up.  
“Stiles is fine, he’s just pouting because he didn't get to drive his death-trap-on-wheel-in-sky-blue back home.”  
“I’m not pouting, men don’t pout. We brood. We manly brood.” Stiles says while pouting.  
Allison stares at him for a second then continues talking to the deputy.  
“Deputy, you must be new on the force, am I correct?”  
“Yes little darling, that’s correct.I started last week. Moved up here from Kansas last month.”  
“Ma’am.”  
“Excuse me?”  
“It’s yes ma’am. You address a full warder as either sir or ma’am. Allison is a full warder so you address her as ma’am or Miss. Argent.” Stiles corrects the deputy as he turns to stare out the window attempting to look like he’s not pouting (brooding, whatever)  
Allison gives Stiles a small smile that she knows he sees even if he’s acting like a baby.  
“I apologize Ms. Argent,” The deputy says while blushing fiercely “Why do you ask?”  
“Well, I know all the deputies in town and don’t recognize you and secondly you addressed Stiles as Spark Stilinski and offered to take him to an ER.”  
“Is that a problem?”  
“ Well, unless you count the people or things that would kill a Spark for their power to know that Stiles is one or trying to have a mundane doctor try to fix any injury a caster might have as problems, then no there isn't one.”  
The deputy blushed even harder. That had been on the Deputies Exam. Only healers were able to heal other casters and revealing a casters type to the general public was one of the biggest taboos there were.  
“I apologize ma’am. I wasn't thinking.”  
“No problem deputy, now you know better.”  
Stiles stifled a laugh at the deputy’s discomfort. It was a long standing tradition that warders give the new deputies a hard time in order to determine what kind of personalities and the strengths and weaknesses of their biggest allies. Allison leaned back in her chair with a little self satisfied grin. The rest of the trip was uneventful.

The Stilinski residence would be considered normal if normal entailed that the entire neighborhood consisted of Victorian style manors like the ones found in the deep South, but alas this isn't the South and the Stilinski house was far from the normal cookie cutter houses one finds in suburban neighborhoods around the country. In fact, it was technically was the neighborhood as the closest other house was a block away. Two vehicles were parked in the driveway while a third was parked on the street next to the curb in front of the house. The deputy dropped Stiles and Allison off in front of the house not daring to speak again in hopes of not making a bigger fool out of himself. Stiles and Allison walked to the front door only to run into someone coming out , literally.  
“Ooof.”  
“Sorry Stiles, your mother said you and Allison were home and I had to make sure you guys (Allison) was alright.”  
“No prob Chris.” Stiles says to Christopher Argent, Allison’s father and Warder General. He was also Claudia Stilinski’s Warder and had been for about 12 years, ever since Chris’ old house had been burned down with his sister, wife, and father still inside. It was a running debate in Beacon Hills as too which caster actually burned down the home of the most hated people in California while the nice members of the family were on a girl scout trip.  
A female voice with a light Polish accent called out from inside the house.  
“Bronisław? is that you?” A faint magical pulse emitted from the inside of the house. It sent a chill up Stiles spine as his mother confirmed that Stiles was in one piece and hadn’t gotten himself killed, again.  
“ Cześć Mama. I’m fine, just a little tired from today and Allison is fine too.” Stiles motions to Allison. The voice responded with a dry tone.  
“Child, your definition of fine is not missing any vital limbs or bleeding to death. Now come inside and eat something. Since you’re home early, you can help me with the practices this afternoon.” That last bit sounded a little too final for Stiles to try and argue with. Stiles and the Argents walk into the house to be met with the smell of muffins and the sight of a large brown wolf. Mrs. Claudia Stilinski walks into the room. At 5’10”, Claudia Stilinski was the same height as her husband but shorter than her son. Her wheat gold hair fell in waves and curls to behind her shoulder of her willowy frame. Stiles’s honey brown eyes stared back at him but with one slight difference, hers were clouded over. Claudia was blind but that never once stopped the Polish Witch from living the life she wanted. Stiles smiled and his mother and she smiled back and the two walked towards each other to hug. Unfortunately, there was a coffee table in the way.  
“Cholera!” both mother and son said as they banged into said table.  
“How about Stiles goes and gets changed before one or both of you kill yourselves.” Chris offers helpfully. Both casters glare at him while the wolf gives the impression of laughing.

After Stiles gets changed and downs a small snack(a whole sandwich and three cookies, Stiles, if you eat that much you won’t have room for dinner… Oh who am I kidding, you’d eat the whole fridge if I’d let you) he notices the muffin basket on the kitchen counter.  
“Whuves de muufins fo.”  
“Stiles swallow.” Stiles Swallows  
“Who are the muffins for?”  
Claudia looks confused.  
“Muffins? What Muffins?” She sniffs the air then furrows her eyebrows, “Peter!!.”  
The brown wolf from early walks into the kitchen and then promptly sits down in front of Claudia and gives her get big puppy dog eyes.  
“Peter, I’m blind. That doesn't work on me and I know better than to believe you’re innocent of anything. Turn back so you can respond.”  
The wolf leaves the kitchen and a minute later Peter Hale walks into the kitchen with only a shirt and pants on.  
“Yes Claudia, my lovely…”  
“Cut the charm Peter. Did you bake these muffins?”  
“Why Yes I did. I thought it would be an excellent gift to give to the young man who saved your son’s life this afternoon.” Peter oozed charm with his wolfly grin. Claudia continues to give Peter a pointed look.  
“Really, that’s very thoughtful of you, yet I wonder how managed to make muffins when I’m fairly certain you were furry for the whole day and I don’t have a muffin recipe in this house.” Peter starts to pale and his smile slips.  
“Claudia, dearest, I can explain.” Peter’s lips get sealed with a gesture from Claudia.  
“Peter Hale, did you ask Chris to make you muffins?” Peter nods reluctantly. Claudia looks like she’s about to start on Peter as Stiles and Allison grin while eating when Claudia turns to them.  
“Stiles get the door and tell Scott that if he continues to use that trick, he’s going to kill brain cells he can’t afford to lose. Take them outside. You’re running the lessons today.” She turns back to Peter “Just because Christopher is my warder does not give you the right to boss him around Peter…”  
Stiles stands up with Allison following and opens the front door to find nothing.  
“Scott, mom says that you need to stop trying like this or you’re going to lose brain cells.” Stiles calls to the open air. Nothing happens for a few seconds when a faint whoosh sound came from in front of Stiles and three people fell onto the porch. Stiles stared down at the three teenagers that appeared out of nowhere. Two boys and a girl started to stand up.  
“Seriously dude, did you have to break my concentration? I was like at 2 minutes.” One of the boys said.  
“It’s true Stiles, he was actually doing a pretty good job there. He even managed to cover me and Lydia.” A Hawaiian looking boy standing behind the first one continued. The third teen, the girl called Lydia just rolled her eyes at the two boys and then stared at Stiles.  
“Hi Stiles, I’m assuming there’s a reason you’re here.” She asked while effortlessly fixing her messed up hair.  
“Why Lydia, My queen, My Goddess, of course these a reason I’m here. I live here. And I’m giving you your lessons for today as my mom’s giving Peter a lecture about abusing his rights as a seeing eye dog.” Lydia smiles at Stiles with a sarcastic grin. “We’re going to be in the back so that we don’t destroy anything.” The three agreed and walked towards the massive backyard around the house. Stiles closed the door and through the house towards the backyard. Allison went and collected the equipment needed for the lessons.  
“Mind If I help today?” She asked Stiles  
“Sure.”  
Out in the Stilinski backyard, which takes up a good few acres of forest, the three teens stood around waiting for Stiles. One of the boys from early gasped as he saw Allison. He motioned for Stiles.  
“Dude, you didn't tell me Allison was here today. What if I mess up?” He panicky whispered.  
“Scott, chill man bro. You’re going to do fine.” Stiles whispered back trying to easy his best bro’s mind. Scott stared over at Allison as she was setting up some bean bags and talking to Lydia. Stiles decides to start the lesson.  
“Alright children, gather around so that Sorcerer Supreme Stilinski will tell you what we amazing feats of magic we will be practicing today.” The girls and the other boy rolled their eyes while Scott just grinned. Stiles continued as if he didn't notice anything. Three of the bean bags floated over to him as he addressed each of the others in turn.  
“Lydia, you will be practicing your transformation.” Stiles eyes glowed a faint silver and each of the bags turned into potted plant. “Specifically, living to non-living and vice versa. Danny,” Stiles turns to look at the other boy “ You will be practicing your incantations. I want to see those squirrels line dance,” Stiles pointed to a family of squirrels in a nearby tree. Finally he looked at Scott. “Scott. Scott! Scott!! Stop mooning over Allison.” Scott jumped and turned to face Stiles, blushing a deep red.  
“Sorry Bro.”  
“Uh-huh. Scott, you are going to be working on telekinesis.”  
“Why? I’m pretty good at it already.”  
“Scott, brother, I love you but you have gawd awful aim. You’re great and bring things to you but not the other way around. Which is why Allison is here. She’s going to throw things at you and you have to sending back to her without breaking my mother’s windows.” Stiles clapped his hands “Alright everyone begin.”

A little while later while Scott, Danny and Lydia were practicing, Allison walked over to Stiles who was sitting in one of the lawn chairs on the back porch.  
“How’s Scott doing Artemis?” Allison smiles at the old nickname.  
“He’s trying too hard and we've had a couple of close calls with the windows but have managed to avoid destroying your mother’s house.”  
“That’s great.” Stiles smiles and stares at his friends “Come on Danny, Let’s see those squirrels bust a move now.” Danny flips him off. Stiles chuckles.  
“Stiles, do you want to talk about what happened today? I know that as a caster, danger is part of the lifestyle, but today was kinda scary.” Allison face betrays nothing but her eyes scream concern and fear.  
Stiles its up, looking thoughtful, a strange look on him,“I don’t know Allison. I mean I've faced explosions before but it doesn't seem real to me. Someone actually managed to sneak a real grenade under Glass’s nose and if Royce hadn't been there..” Stiles scratches the back of his head, “I don’t know how to feel. I guess I’m still trying to process this. It’s not everyday you almost accidentally get killed.” The sound of something breaking draws the twos eyes up to see Lydia staring horrified at them.  
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cholera -Damn  
> Cześć-Hello


	6. Of magic and parties

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for everyone who is sticking with the story. I hope you enjoy the new chapter. As always, comments are appreciated.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that.”  
Allison and Stiles side eye each other while trying to avoid Lydia’s horrified and accusing stare.  
“Oh, it’s nothing Lyds, just something that happened at school.” Allison tries to ease the tension in the air.  
“Don’t “it’s nothing me” Allison. If something happened at that school, I have a right to know. I will be attending on Monday.” Lydia counters  
“I mean it Lydia, it’s nothing to worry about. There was an accident during training and one of the recruits was a little over eager. Nothing to worry about” _for now_ Allison reassures her best friend.  
“Right…I’ll let it drop for now, but I will weasel it out of you two eventually. Now Stiles, I have some questions about the first day of school next week.”  
The rest of the training session went overly without much incident after that. Lydia managed to turn all the planted plants back into bean bags, Danny got the squirrels to do the Macarena, and Scott only broke one window, which was easily fixed by Stiles before his mother noticed. Around 30 minutes later, Claudia walked into the backyard with a slightly sullen looking Peter following her.  
“Alight, my badacz, now that it seems that you have warmed up, it is time for that actually magic to begin.Today we will be practicing with the elements.” Lydia looked excited while the boys grimaced. This was the hardest part of the lessons Claudia gave to her bred casters. Elemental magic was some of the most complex magic a caster can work but was necessary for all casters to know. Being able to work with the mother earth and gain strength from her was one of the cornerstones of all magic. Stiles just grinned at his friends from his spot on the porch, as being a Spark, elemental magic was his specialty.  
“Now I hope all three of you did what I asked and looked into what element you feel most comfortable with. I’m not expecting anything big today or for a while but I do want to feel if you can form a connection. Stiles, could you prepare some samples for your friends to work with?” Stiles nodded and closed his eyes. He reached inside himself to find his center, his core, his magic. It was his light in the dark place that was the world. Stiles felt the warmth that was his light and reached for it. It surged with the power at his touch and as he called upon it. Stiles pictured the small fractions of the elements that his mother requested and he felt the light through him as it worked and he hummed at the feeling of working with his specialty. Stiles called to the world and it responded. If Stiles was to open his eyes, you would see them shine a brilliant silver color, the color of a full moon in spring.  
“Thank you ukochany.” Stiles opened his eyes as the working was done. In front of him small balls of 10 different elements were forming. His friends stared in amazement as water, fire, lightning, wind, earth, nature, light, darkness, and what looked like metal hovered in the air.  
Claudia clapped her hands to get the bred casters attention again. Allison and Peter had seen stuff like this for years and weren't memorized. Lydia was the first to come back to her senses.  
“Mrs. Stilinski, I would like to go first. I have been reading up on the different techniques used by different practices and think that I have a good idea of what I will work best with.”  
“Of course you have Lydia,” Claudia said with her son’s famous trademark sarcasm (he had to get it from somewhere) but allowed the girl to come forward. “Now I want you to open yourself to the power and don’t be afraid of it. A trained caster can work with any element but we all have one or two that we are best with. Don’t be disappointed if the element that you find yourself best with isn't the one you thought of. Now close your eyes and reach out with your power.” Lydia did as she was instructed and reached out for the balls with her fledgling magic. Nothing happened for the few seconds until the ball made out of air and wind started to move. It bobbed towards Lydia as if it was a puppy and moved in slow circles around her. Lydia sneezed and the ball retreated back to the others. Lydia slowly opened her eyes.  
“Excellent Lydia, very well done. You managed a firm connection on your first try and with air and wind. Excellent, excellent work. “ Claudia complimented her student and Lydia just flipped her hair as if it were nothing but everyone knew she was grinning wide on the inside. Claudia turned to the boys. “Who's next?” Scott got pushed forward.  
Ten minutes later, lessons were over for the day. Scott managed to bond to nature “It makes sense dude, you’re great with animals” and Danny to light “I guess it’s just your sunny personality”. Allison hit Stiles after that one. Everyone was getting ready to leave when Scott turned to Stiles.  
“Is magic school going to be as hard as your mom’s lessons?” Stiles looked at his best friend with a straight face look.  
“yes, yes it is.”  
Scott groaned and left the backyard after fist-bumping Stiles. Danny was already gone and Lydia was walking with Allison. She turned to look at Stiles.  
“Stiles, is it true that you’re inviting more people to the ball? Is it an opened invitation now? can I bring a date or a few friends?”  
Claudia answered before Stiles could open his mouth.  
“the ball itself is open to anyone and everyone, Lydia, the coronation is by invitation only. If you’re thinking of bringing who I think you’re thinking of, remind him that he must bring an offering for the homage if he is to attend and only one guest may join you at the coronation.”  
“Thank you Mrs. Stilinski.”  
And with that, Lydia left. Allison walked back towards the Stilinski casters and returned to the house. Peter was already inside the kitchen and was preparing dinner. It looked to be Chicken Fried Steak, mash potatoes with country gravy, Pieczarki Marynowane (polish marinated mushrooms) and a very green salad , all Chris Argents’ favorite dinner.  
“Thank you Peter, it smells wonderful.” Allison said while kissing Peter on the cheek.  
“Of course it does, I am a marvelous chef.” Peter said with his trademark cheekiness.  
Chris Argent snorted while sitting in the living room looking at a stack of papers. _Those are the reports on the warders ready to bond._  
“Hush you, at least I don’t burn toast when I make it.” Peter snapped at the sitting man in a friendly manner. As this was going on, Stiles and Claudia started to set the table. Actually, they just sat at the table and the dishes and silverware moved from the cabinets and set themselves. It was about this time that John walked in and almost got hit in the head with a plate.  
“Watch it you two.”  
“Sorry Dad, my bad.”  
“Welcome home ukochany.” John smiled, walking over to his wife of 25 years and kissed her.  
“Everyone home? Good, let’s start dinner so that we can make plans for Saturday.”

If there was one thing that the supernatural were better than normal people at , it was gossip. Who knew that mystical creatures loved a good rumor? And the rumor on everyone’s tongue? Stiles Stilinski birthday ball. The students at Bram Stoker High were all buzzing.  
“Did you hear that Stella Noctis was going to be there?”  
“Seriously? Ah man, I love them. I downloaded their new album last night.”  
“I heard there was going to be an all you can eat dessert buffet.”  
“Well I heard that he was getting a five star restaurant to wait on them.”  
“ There’s going to be carnival with rides and a petting zoo.”  
“No way, I heard it was the circus.”  
Lydia Martin glided down the halls of her high school like the goddess she was, past the whispers of the other students. It was lunchtime and she had stuff to discuss with her friends and fellow casters. The casters of Bram Stoker high were all bred casters that had learned how to use magic from one of the resident born casters. Bram Stoker actually had an excellent course for teaching casters that didn't move on to BHCA. About 50% of the bred casters in Beacon Hills stayed at Bram Stoker. Lydia walked into the cafeteria and found her usual table with it’s usual occupants. She sat down next to Danny and a tall and well built boy with blonde hair.  
“Heya Babe, did you miss me?” the blonde boy said as he turned to Lydia.  
“As always Jackson, as always. Now I need to discuss some important matters with everyone.” She turned to all the people present. There was Danny, Scott, Jackson, A very pretty blonde girl, a well built black guy and a tough looking girl.  
“What important matters?” the blonde girl said while digging into her lunch.  
“Stiles birthday on Saturday, Erica. What else?” Jackson groaned loudly at this.  
“Lydia, babe. Why would you ruin my lunch by talking about Stinkinski’s birthday. I mean, what’s the point in going? He doesn’t even go to our school.”  
Scott glared daggers and started to respond when Lydia cut in.  
“It’s important Babe because Stiles is important. Dislike him all you want but he is going to be the next Governor of the West Coast. Secondly, I’m not talking about his birthday party, I’m talking about the Ball you twit.” That shut Jackson up. The other entire table started to stare at Lydia. “the Ball is the most important event of the year. The most important people from around the country will be attending including representatives of the other territories as well as the current Governor not to mention every born casters in the state of California and it’s now open to the public by invitation too . You always say how you’re going to be famous and rub elbows with the elite, well here’s your first chance. Scott, Danny, and I are already going to be going and will be attending the coronation and I’m allowed to bring one guest. Guess who I thought of asking?”  
Jackson just stared at Lydia dumbly. He couldn't believe it. This was his chance to become someone important. Jackson swallowed hard.  
“Me?” he whispered  
“That’s right, see you’re more than just a pretty face.” Suddenly the Well built black guy spoke up.  
“Isn't that also the Day of Homage? Don’t we have to present our offering to the casters that day?”  
“Thank you Boyd for bringing that up. Jackson, if you are attending the coronation with me, you better bring one hell of a homage gift for Stiles and you better be on you best behavior.”  
Jackson just nodded his head thinking about all the possibilities before him. Lydia rolled her eyes and looked at the three across the table.  
“Erica, I assume I don’t have to remind you that you have to be on your best behavior as well. No getter upset if some caster wants Boyd.”  
Erica gawked at her friend.  
“I’m coming too? Sweet Jesus that’s awesome. I assumed that I wouldn’t be allowed to. I’ll make sure to be as sweet as an angel and bring an awesome offering.”  
The tough looking girl on the other side of Boyd just huffed. Lydia glared at her.  
“is there a problem Cora?” The girl shrugged.  
“I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s just some fancy party for a stuck up kid. It’s not like it’s going to change the world or anything. I don’t see why Boyd and Erica are excited, it’s not like the rest of the pack is going to go.” She gives Boyd and Erica a side long glance. The two look sheepish. Lydia’s eyes widen in realization.  
“That’s right, you’re not allowed to go are you Cora.” The girl called Cora shrugs again.  
“Well, you've been involved in this before and can help the other’s you haven’t pick out good homage gifts. I will not allow you people to embarrass me in front of my future classmates.” And with that, the group fell into an intense discussion.


	7. Hales part I

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hit over 1500 views. That is awesome. Thank you to all of my readers. I will try and continue to make this enjoyable for you.

As one might expect, lunch was not a good time to get anything productive done, especially for Lydia Martin  
“No Jackson, you cannot offer a strip tease as homage.”  
“Scott, stop throwing your fries at Boyd!”  
“Boyd, stop making Scott throw fries at you.”  
“No Erica, you are expected to wear something formal, and yes, a bra is necessary.”  
“Some help would be appreciated Danny.”  
“Stop shoving each other, you aren't three.”  
“Why am I friends with you people?”  
Cora just stared and shook her head at her friends (and Jackson). She continued eating her lunch and trying to ignore all the buzz about the lunch room about the upcoming ball on Saturday. _Geez people, it’s only Wednesday, calm your tits._ She didn't make a big deal out of it and didn't see why any of her friends should either. Cora was not a girl that got excited over stupid things like balls and parties. She got excited about things like motorcycles and MMA fights and driving around in her brother’s camaro, not dresses and shoes. The bell rang, ending lunch but apparently not the end of the conservation.  
“Alright you hooligans, I am going to make a list of all the things that you will get done for the ball on Saturday, and I expect each of you to complete them. If not, there will be severe consequences. “Lydia glares at each of them in turn and the air around her starts to fuzz and crackle, “Am I understood.” Everyone but Cora shook their heads in acknowledgement.  
“Good, and I expect better ideas about homage gifts from you as well, Jackson.” Jackson at least had the sense to look sheepish at that. And with that, Lydia left the table and headed to class.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful for Cora. She went to class, slept in three of them. Went to P.E. and kicked ass and then spent the last hour of the day doing absolutely nothing in detention for sleeping in class. Cora was contemplating how to scale down the school’s wall when she got a text.

Incoming, the big three are heading home. Be prepared

 _Just great, just what I need. As if I didn't have to spend all day listening about this damn party on Saturday, now they’re coming home. This day is starting to suck._  
The final bell signally the end of the day finally rang and Cora dragged herself to the bike rack at the front of the school and contemplated her course of action.  
 _Maybe if I ride really slow, I’ll get home later than mom and she will be too tired to nag me. Or I could go into the library and read and just say that I needed help with homework. That won’t work, dad will ask me what I needed with and try to “Help” by getting me a “tutor”. God Almighty, I won’t be able to escape this will I? Damnation._  
Cora was having her internal monologue while pedaling away from school and away from town towards the preserve on the outskirts of Beacon Hills. Technically, Cora and her family didn't live in Beacon Hills or in the county, they lived in the the space between Beacon Hills and the next county over. The reason she went to Bram Stoker was because it was about 5 miles closer than the high school in the opposite direction, which somedays felt like a bad thing, like today. When Cora got to the preserve dirt road, what her family called a drive way, she immediately decided to turn around and go somewhere else. Anywhere else for that matter, but she knew that if she didn't come home straight away from this distance, there’d be trouble that she didn't want to could handle at this moment. With a miserable sigh, Cora pedaled towards her home.

“Cora, is that you?” An strong female voice called from one of open windows.  
“Ya, Aunt Jan, It’s me. I’m home from school.”  
“Oh good, maybe you can help me shoot myself in the head before your mother gets home.”  
Cora would have laughed if she didn't feel the exact same way.  
“You know I would Jan, but who would shoot me and Nancy would complain about the carpet getting dirty.”  
As Cora opened the door to the old Victorian style home, a tall, elegant, graceful woman of about 40 with long dark hair and striking hazel eyes came to greet her and give her a hug.  
“She would probably demand that we clean it up since we made the mess.” Cora continued.  
The woman called Jan gave a half laugh, half sigh.  
“She would, wouldn't she. I sometimes wonder if my brother is the only one in this family to have any sense, well expect us that is.” Cora gave her favorite aunt a shrug and another hug as the two women walked towards the large kitchen. Jan got out the milk jug and a plate of marble cake from the fridge and Cora got two forks. The two women started at the cake like sharks.  
“I heard that the Big Three are coming home today.” Cora said nonchalantly.  
Jan groaned through a mouthful of cake. She swallowed and drank some milk before she started to choke.  
“No wonder Nan has been a pain in the ass since this morning. She’s been acting like the house it going to catch on fire if it isn’t spotless. She had the nerve to tell me that I was being a nuisance and in her way. Here I was, drawing my clients bathroom on my couch, and she demands I move so that she can dust. She practically threatened me with the pledge, So I broke the couch.”  
Cora gave her aunt an evil grin that Jan returned. The two women continued eating the cake until Cora heard the sound of a far off engine. It sounded like…  
“Mom is home.” Jan looks up from her half on the cake  
“Shoot, where’s my gun?”

Talia was many things; a wife, a mother, a sister, a friend, a career woman, and matriarch to her family. Talia believed that her family was great , it was great in the past and could her great again. Each member of her family could achieve greatness if they lived up to the family’s prestige. She was a proud woman, proud of her accomplishments and proud of her family but she knew they could do better and would do better. There wasn't a day that went by that she didn't try to bring greatness to her family.  
“Hello, is anyone home?” Talia called as she walked into the house  
A. loud “NO” came from the kitchen. Talia walked to find her second daughter and her sister sitting at the table.  
“What were you two eating?” she asked as she surveyed the kitchen and smelled the air.  
“Nothing” “cake” the two answered at the same time. Cora glared at her aunt. Jan looked bored.  
“Cake? Cora? you know that will spoil your dinner and it’s going to go straight to your hips and thighs. We have a surprise today and dinner is going to be special.”  
Cora looked down at the plate and felt guilty about eating it. Jan on the other hand looked up at Talia and with a smooth and calm voice “A guilt trip about eating cake before dinner coming from the woman who ate six doughnuts and three cups of coffee today and half of a jello mold before lunch, not to mention the French cuisine you had at lunch and the shake in your car on the way home.” Talia turned beat red and coughed into her hand. Cora snickered. Jan continued. “As for your surprise, Marcus, Laura and Derek are coming home and you’re expecting the entire family to be present.” Talia looks questioningly at her sister. “Nancy went OCD on the living room this afternoon.” Talia rolled her eyes and whispered “of course”.  
“Well Janelle, since you are so well informed about the ongoings of this family, pray, is our darling brother going to be gracing us with his presence to welcome home his niece and nephews.”  
“Most likely no.”  
“And why would that be?”  
“Because you’d spend the entire evening pestering him about details about the party that you know he can't share with us and wouldn't even if he could.”  
“I wouldn't do such as thing.” Talia says indignantly.  
Both Cora and Jan give her flat looks.  
“Talia, you have been trying to pump information out of him since he took the position 6 years ago. You know he’s vowed to secrecy about what goes on in that house and nothing you do or threaten him with is anything compared to what will happen to him if he breaks those vows he took. Now stop worrying about him and tell us what you want us to do to prepare for the arrival of your favorite children.”

If there was anybody who regretting coming back home more than Cora, it was her brother Derek. It wasn't because he didn't love his family, it’s just that his parents could be a bit (understatement of the year) overbearing. The only reason he actually came home was because of homage and the law that stated all supernatural beings had to return home for homage if living in the same territory. But returning home did mean that he got to see his younger sister, his favorite aunt and uncle, and get his car back. Derek parked in front of his family home, already lit up like time square for New Years, and checked himself in the side view mirror. Staring back at him was a pair of gorgeous hazel eyes, three day old scruff, and the body of a Greek god (if the mirror went that far down) and slightly gelled black hair. Derek nodded to himself and walked towards the house. Passing two rather expensive looking cars, he noticed that he was the last one to arrive, which was a mixed blessing at best. He steeled himself for the eventual onslaught and opened the front door to yelling. “What do you mean you got invited?” a piercing shriek exploded  
“It’s means that he got an invitation.” a much calmer voice responded  
“But how? We've never been invited to any of those events. Why him? Why now?”  
“Well, it sounds like the boy came up to him in class and asked it he wanted to come. He responded with a yes and received an invitation. As for why now? I don’t know. Maybe he’s trying to be a nice person, or maybe he doesn't know who he is.”  
Derek noticed his Aunt Jan and walked over to her on the couch, which appeared to be broken. Jan looked up and smiled.  
“Derek, my favorite nephew. Come sit, give you aunt a hug and watch the drama as it unfolds for your entertainment pleasure.” Derek smiles and leans down to hug Jan.  
“Hi Jan, I missed you. What’s going on?”  
“Well it appears that your cousin Roman, the one attending the magic school to become a warder, has received a personal invitation to the ball today during school. Of course your mother was as giddy as a schoolgirl about the news and was making plans about what to wear and who he should bring as a date and so forth when your cousin Shelby came home and saw the invitation and started screaming like a banshee. She’s demanding that Roman get another invitation so that she can attend as well. Well, your sister has been trying to, and has so far been unsuccessful, at calming her down.”  
“Ah” is all Derek could say to that. Really, what else could he say.  
“Wait, what ball?”  
A deep baritone voice from behind Derek answered in a blunt tone “Why, the Coronation / birthday ball for the new governor.”


	8. Hales part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with me. I appreciate all my readers. This is the second part of the Hale family introduction.

Derek stared at what would be him in the future. Achilles Hale was the personification of manly. He shared Derek’s height, face, and rugged good looks with the same three day scruff with the tiniest bit of gray coming through, same body but with a more muscular build, and greenish-blue eyes instead of the green-gold of his son. Achilles looked like he should have been on the cover of some Harlequin Romance novel. Derek just smiled at his old man.  
“Hey dad, how are you?” Derek asked as he went to gave his father a very manly hug.  
“Oh, just fine. You know, as fine as a man can be surrounded by woman folk and children.” Les responded in a deadpan tone while returning his son’s bear hug (yes bear hug. It’s manly) “The house isn't the same since all the men left. You should hear the shrieking I have to put up with now that most of the girls are at that certain age. A man like me needs to spend some time with other rugged men.”  
Jan snorted from her place on the couch “Really Les? If we womenfolk and children are such a bother, you could always go hang out with our brother. I’m sure he wouldn't mind the company. He must get lonely being by himself most of the time.” Jan smiled at Les with an innocent yet knowing smile knowing that he would rather bash his head in with a rock than spend quality time with “The brother” “Besides, you aren't the only man around here. Roman, RJ, and Dion live here too.”  
It was Les turn to snort. “RJ and Dion don’t count and Roman isn't 18 yet, so yes, I’m the only man around the house. Anyways, that doesn't matter now that Derek and Marc are home.” Les punctuates the point by slapping Derek on the back. Derek just smiles at the teasing between his aunt and father.  
“I’m glad to be home dad, I've missed the family.” Derek turns back around “ Where is the family? Usually there’d be some very small children running around or the sounds of something being broken. I saw Marc’s and Laura’s cars out front but I don’t see them anywhere.”  
“The rest of our brood, aside from the screaming Shelby and Eliza, are outside waiting for the meal to arrive. Your mother wanted fresh venison to barbeque for the special occasion, so she went out to get some along with RJ and Dion. They’ll be back in a few minutes.”  
“Ah”  
“Articulate as ever aren't you Derek.” A sweet alto voice came from the direction of the kitchen. Derek smiled as he noticed his sister-in-law Eliza standing by the way between the kitchen and living room. The young woman with long flowing brown/black hair and kind grey eyes that seemed to be always smiling looked a bit flustered.  
“I’ll say something when I have something that needs to be said. Real men don’t waste words.”Derek responded and Les nodded in agreement “And I’m not the one who looks like a blushing virgin.”  
“Oh shush you, calming down Shelby is like calming down a mad goose. Anything you say gets her madder.” Eliza retorted with a small shove “But never mind that, welcome home Derek, how was the East Coast? Meet anyone exciting you want to bring home and help me escape the hell that is being the only daughter-in-law?”  
“It was great, I have so much to tell you guys, and no, the only occupant of that hell is still you for the moment.”

When Derek stepped outside with Jan, Eliza, and his dad, he got the welcome he had been expecting. The entire Hale family, minus only one, was milling around putting up tables and chairs, getting the food ready and just enjoying each other’s company. Someone spotted Derek and called out “Well if it isn't Der-Bear? he looks all grown up now.” That caused everyone to turn and stare at Derek before dropping what they were doing and come and greet him. Derek soon found himself in a mob of hugs, kissing, slaps on the back and an overall family moment. Derek noticed two individuals standing out of the way of everyone else. Derek rolled his eyes and the shorter female gave him a small wave with a face saying she was enjoying this too much. The other one, another male who looked a lot like Derek, only with slightly more blondish hair walked over to Eliza and gave her a small kiss on the lips.  
“Sorry I left you alone with Shelby. They wouldn't let me escape.”  
“You should be sorry Mister Hale, I hate dealing with screaming teenage girls.”  
The man kissed Eliza again and looked over at Derek who appeared to be slightly turning blue from a hug by three different elderly women.  
“Hey Bro, looks like you could use some help over there.” He said smirking  
“No need, don’t worry Marcus, I’m sure that Laura over there would love to help her little brother wouldn't you Laura.” Derek called out to the woman who waved over.  
“Don’t even think about it little brother, I already escaped by family mob today and will not voluntarily entering another.” Derek glared at her and she laughed.  
Eventually the family broke when the sounds of howling came over the trees. Three very large wolves, one pure black, one dappled grey and brown, and an almost golden one in lead came barreling out the nearby forest, each dragging a full grown deer by the neck towards the group of people.  
“Finally, the meats here, we can eat now.”  
Jan, Les, and another woman who looked liked Talia and Jan walked over to the wolves and the deer carcasses. The golden wolf walked over to Les, the black one Jan and the dapple to the third woman. Each wolf dropped the deer and a loud cracking sound started to come from each of them. Shortly afterwards, Talia Hale and two rugged looking men, one who looked like Italian viking and the other a Irish lumberjack, stood there completely naked and with their mouths covered in blood. Les took Talia into his arms, leaned her back and gave her a passionate french kiss, either completely ignoring the blood or actually enjoying it was anybodies guess, the other two naked men did the same with Jan and the other woman.  
Somebody coughed in the background. “Either get a room, or bring the meat over here so we can finally eat.” None of the three couples looked sheepish or ashamed in the least bit.  
Talia seemed to notice that the guests of honor were all finally home and gave them a slightly predatory smile.  
“oh great” is all Derek thought.

After the venison was placed on the barbeque, the whole family started to fill the plates with the food that would put a buffet to shame, and sat down at the designated places with Talia and Les at the head and their children sitting on the either side, the boys next to Les and the girls next to Talia with one exception. A tall, leaned muscled boy with his hair in a small ponytail sat next to Talia at her insistence which made the already uncomfortable boy even more so. After everyone had sitten down, Talia started to speak  
“Welcome everyone to this celebration. I am so happy …. “ when a wiry blond woman interrupted her.  
“Did everyone get what they wanted to eat? Do you all have napkins and silverware? The venison won’t be ready for a few more minutes so you’ll all have to be patient for it. Please remember to clean off your feet or shoes before you go back inside. I just mopped the kitchen today and I don’t want it dirty. Anyone who is staying the night needs to tell me so that I can have enough rooms made up.”  
“Nancy?”  
“Yes Talia?”  
“Are you finished?”  
“No, why?”  
“I was about to start talking.”  
“So, don’t let me stop you. Just because I cooked all the food, cleaned the house, invited everyone and made sure Your children's home coming wouldn't be an embarrassment to you shouldn't stop you from talking over me.”  
“Nancy?”  
“Yes Olivia?”  
“Shut up and let the Alpha speak, you daft omega.”  
That caused Nancy to shut up right away. Talia beamed at her sister Olivia.  
“Thank you Olivia.”  
“You’re welcome Talia, now please explain why you look like you’re holding my son hostage?”  
Talia looked down at the boy to her right and smiled.  
“Because my dear sister, your son Roman has become one of the reasons for tonight's dinner celebration.”  
That caused almost everyone to gawk at Roman and Talia.  
“I thought we were here because Marcus, Laura, and Derek are come home?”  
“That was the original reason, yes, but after certain news this afternoon, we have another reason to celebrate. An important matter that concerns the future of this whole family.”  
“Oh cut the dramatics Talia and just tell them already.” Jan groaned  
“Very well. members of the Hale Family. It is with great pride that I announce that Roman Hale has been invited to the new governor’s ball this Saturday.”  
Instead of the gasps and excited murmurs that she was expecting, all Talia got was silence and the crickets chirping.  
“Did you not hear what I said?” Talia asked, starting to get impatient. Finally someone answered.  
“So?”  
“So what?”  
“So, why is it a big deal that Roman got invited to the governor’s ball? It’s an open invitation, the entire town is invited. Besides, that’s the Day of Homage. The boys would have to go anyways.” Les choked at that and Derek handed his father a beer while gently patting his back looking concerned. Les motioned that he was fine. Olivia looked over to her sister.  
“Really Talia, is that all that this was about? I mean I understand the excitement of your oldest children coming home but you didn't have to drag Roman into this.”  
The rest of the family started to mutter among themselves. Talia started to grow impatient and her temper started flare. Roman noticed this and spoke quickly in order to try and defuse the situation.  
“Actually mom, that’s not what Aunt Ty meant. I got an invitation to attend the coronation.” He finished in a quiet voice.  
That shut everyone up. Most of the family openly gawked at him, particularly the girls, especially Cora. Olivia gaped at her son.  
“You what?”  
“I got an invitation to attend the actual coronation.”  
“How?”  
“I got it in class today.”  
“Is this why Shelby was screaming earlier?”  
“Yes.”  
“Boy, I’m going to need more complete answers from you. Are you telling me that you, Roman Hale, received an invitation to attend the most important event in the Caster community in the last 30 years.” This came out as more of a statement than a question. Olivia’s Mate, RJ, took his Mate’s hand and tried to calm her down. Roman looked a little sheepish.  
“Yes, mom, I did.”  
“Why?”  
“He said that he would probably get better gifts if the girls saw me there.”  
“What girls?”  
“The casters ready to bond.”  
“Ready to bond? Roman Hale, are you telling me that you’re ready to bond to a caster.”  
“The Warder General approved my paper work today.”  
“By the Mother Moon!”  
“Olivia”, Talia Interrupted her sister, “Why all that is nice, may I continue about more important things? This is an opportunity that we cannot miss.”  
“More important? My son is getting ready to bond to a young woman, a caster, for the rest of his life. There is nothing more important to me than that.”  
“Actually, Olivia, I think I might have you there,” Les stood up, “ Derek, Laura, Marcus, I am so glad you are home and that we able to spend time as a family before this Saturday. Which is why this is going to pain me to say this. Hale Family, Hale Boys, Derek, Marcus, It’s our family’s turn for homage.” The venison burned.

A couple neighborhoods away, another family was cleaning up after dinner when the phone rang. Peter goes to answer  
“Hello, Stilinski Residence? Ah Talia, how is my favorite Alpha / sister doing?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Achilles nickname is Les (pronounced LEES)


	9. Hale Family Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hale Family Tree   
> so that I don't get confused

Hale Family:  
A. Talia Hale (Alpha) - Achilles Hale (Mate, Talia's husband, Alpha)  
1\. Marcus Hale (Beta, 1st son) - Eliza Hale (Mate, Marcus's wife, Beta)  
2\. Laura Hale (1st daughter, Beta)  
3\. Derek Hale (2nd Son, Beta)  
4\. Cora Hale (2nd daughter, beta)  
B. Janelle Hale (1st Beta) - Dion Hale (Mate, Italian Viking, Janelle's husband, Beta)  
C. Olivia Hale (2nd Beta) - RJ Hale (Mate, Irish lumberjack, Olivia's Husband, Beta)  
1\. Roman Hale ( Warder, Human )  
D. Peter Hale (3rd Beta, seeing eye dog)   
E. Nancy Hale (1st Omega)  
1\. Shelby Hale (2nd Omega)

 

Talia, Janelle, and Olivia are triplets while Nancy and Peter are twins.   
As the story progresses, more members of the family will be added, Ideas for family members are welcomed.


	10. Phone Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Only the Hales can make a phone call this strange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I didn't post last week. I've been fighting with the internet and Windows 8 and finally got it under control.  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you for the views, bookmarks and kudos.  
> As always, comments are appreciated.

“Hello, Stilinski Residence? Ah Talia, how is my favorite Alpha / sister doing?”  
“Hello Peter, I’m doing well. Is Mrs. Stilinski there?” Talia answered using her business woman voice. The voice she used when she wanted something done her way and no one has a say otherwise. _Very similar to her Alpha Voice isn't it_. Claudia heard the slyness in Peter’s voice and walked over with John. Peter mouthed “Talia” to John who whispered it to Claudia and both of them smirked at Peter  
“ Why yes she is dear sister, she coming over right now. Here let me put you on speaker phone.”  
“You don’t have to do..” click  
“Hello Talia, how are you?”  
“Evening Alpha Hale.” John and Claudia greeted together  
“Good evening Sheriff Stilinski, Grand Witch Claudia, I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”  
C “Of course not Talia, we just finished up supper and the kids are doing the dishes.” Allison and Stiles quickly moved to the kitchen to do dishes and eavesdrop on the conservation without being rude. “What can we do for you?”  
T “Well I was hoping to have this conservation in private Claudia, it’s of a personal matter.”  
C “Nonsense dear, I’m just going to tell John and Peter anyways, so it’s best just to ask away while you have all of our attention.”  
You could hear Talia pitching the bridge of her nose and giving a resigned sigh.  
T “Very well, it’s about this year’s homage. It has come to my family’s attention that it’s our turn this year to present a gift of homage to the community.”  
C “Why yes, I think you're right Talia. Is that a problem?”  
T “Well yes it is actually.” Ah the business voice again “As you very well know, we already offered a member of our family six years ago as homage and for us to do it again so soon seems a little unfair for my family.”  
P “That is actually where you are mistaken, dear sister. If you remember correctly, I volunteered, I was not offered.”  
T “So.”  
J “So, Alpha Hale, that means that your family hasn't actually offered homage in over a decade. You’re actually behind. I’m surprised that you’re only calling now about this. Usually families call a week in advice to confirm their offering, not three days before. .”  
T “A decade? confirming?”  
J “Why certainly Alpha Hale, I have the official records for homage offering right here.” he pats the table next to the phone, “ and Archie told me you son’s were coming home this week. He told me that your homage gift had already been decided.”  
T “Archie told you that did he.” Talia’s voice had gained a razor’s edge but still polite.  
J “Yes Ma’am”  
T “If you would excuse me for a moment.”  
The Stilinski’s heard Talia put down the phone but could still hear Talia scream “Achilles”.  
“Ooh, somebody’s in trouble.”  
“Shush Stiles, I can’t hear.”  
“No worries Allison, I can tell you exactly what is being said.” Peter smiled with his wolfy, toothy smile. Everyone chuckled  
Suddenly a new voice came on the phone that sounded exactly like Talia’s only slightly softer and more in control.  
“Hello?”  
Stiles turned to the phone and answered “Hello, Mrs. Hale?”  
“Well technically yes, is Mr. Stiles or the General there?” The voice responded a little louder than necessary.  
Stiles turned to Peter with a cocked eyebrow and a mildly confused look on his face. Peter responded for him.  
“Yes Olivia, they both are. You’re currently talking to Stiles.”  
“Lovely, excuse me if I’m speaking loudly but Talia is screaming down the rafters and it’s very hard to be talk over her as Peter can confirm. Now Stiles, I’m just calling to confirm that you did in fact give my son an actual invitation to your birthday party?” John looked over at his son with his **What didn't you tell us** look. Stiles actively avoided his gaze.  
“Yes?”  
“Oh wonderful, I was worried that Talia just made that up so that she had an excuse to show up to the party and try to shove one of our children down your throat so that you’d become friends. She would do something like that, but if it’s a real invitation, then I’m giving you fair warning that Talia will come to the party and try to shove one of our children down your throat so that you have no choice but become friends and then she will try to use said friendship to climb the social ladder among the supernatural community. What is the dress and what would you like as a present? My son has absolutely the no taste in clothing and worse taste in gifts.”  
Stiles just blinked, John just blinks, Claudia and Allison just blink. _Did she just say that in all one breath?_ Peter face-palms. After a few seconds, Stiles finds words again.  
“Umm…. The dress is formal, or at least a button down shirt and tie. And the gift should probably be a surprise.”  
“Trust me, if I let him pick the gift, you will be surprised. Now, may I ask if the Warder General is there?”  
“One second please.”  
Allison goes and runs to the basement door and calls up her father to pick up the phone. Of course the rest of the house is still on speaker phone.  
“This is General Argent.”  
“Hello General, this is Olivia Hale, Roman Hale’s mother.” Stiles mentally slapped himself for not realizing who Olivia was talking about and then his eyes go really big when he realizes who Roman is. Allison came back, noticed Stiles and gave him a look that said _About Time Dumbass_.  
“What can I do for you Mrs. Hale?”  
“I would like to know why my son tells his father and I that he is ready to bond?” Olivia’s voice starts to get a little bit hysterical.  
“Ah, I can see the problem. Let me assure you Mrs. Hale, Roman isn’t ready to formally bond quite yet.”  
“And why not?” A deep, slightly angry , baritone voice asks “My son is the best in his class. He’s good looking, strong, smart, capable. Any caster would be lucky to get a stud like him for a warder.”  
“RJ, get off the damn phone. I’m trying to ask the General a question about Roman’s future and you getting mad isn't going to help.”  
“Damnations woman, he’s my son too. I have every right to be in this conversation as you do. Now, why isn't my son ready to bond when that Stilinski kid has a warder. They’re both younger than Roman and not nearly as prepared as him particularly the Stilinski kid.”  
“Mr. Hale, I can guarantee you that Roman isn't ready to bond because he isn't good enough, It has to do with the caster he has asked to bond too.” Chris said through what sounded like clenched teeth. John also looked pissed at that last remark. He was about to give the man on the other end of a the line a piece of his mind when another female voice joined in.  
“Wow, very smart RJ. Great way to make your argument by insulting the Warder General’s daughter and her caster while his family is one the other line.” The line went dead at both ends for a few seconds.  
“Ah, Shit.” then a click then a sigh.  
“I apologize for my husband’s boorish behavior. I have to go speak with him about something called tact.”  
“Thank you Mrs. Hale. How about I give Roman my office number so we can continue this conversation at a later time.”  
“I’d appreciate that General. Thank you.” Two more clicks.  
“Well, now that the boring part of the conservation is over, Hello Stilinski Family, Hello Allison Argent, Hello my darlingest brother.” The Stilinski family, Allison and Peter just waved at the phone as if the woman could see them. “I do hope that you haven’t been too bored with my family. Talia stopped yelling at Les and know they are making out like two teenagers again and Olivia is about to raise hell herself in a few seconds.” A very audible thud could be heard. “Ah, there she goes. Now Witch Claudia, as Talia was asking, The Hale Family Homage.”  
That seemed to snap Claudia out of her haze. “Yes, the Hale Family needs to offer up at least one male to the community as a whole for Homage. That means that any caster or caster family may claim his service, whatever that may be, at any time for 2 years or you may offer him up to a specific caster or family for up to 10 years.”  
“Excellent, I have the perfect offering in mind.”  
“No Jan, you cannot offer up Achilles as homage, he’s human. It has to be an actual member of the Hale family” pause “ and no one is going to accept RJ either.”  
“Well that’s no fun.”  
“Ms. Jan?”  
“Yes Sheriff?”  
“do you or anyone else in your family have any personal business with anybody in my house?”  
“Me, no, but let me go check with the rest of them.” The Stilinski household waits several secrets before hearing “ DOES ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO TALK TO THE STILINSKIS OR PETER?” Peter face-palms again.  
“Hello, this is Eliza Hale. I’m married to Marcus, Talia and Achilles oldest son. I was human before getting the bite and have never actually been to a Homage celebration.”  
“Nice to meet you Eliza.” Claudia responds with cautious politeness, not entirely sure where this would end up.  
“I’m just curious if Marcus if eligible for Homage or not because he’s married?”  
“He’s eligible. The fact he’s married means that he will probably be offered for community work instead of working for a specific caster but he is still eligible.”  
“Good to know, thank you and have a nice evening.”  
“You as well.”  
“Howdy Uncle Pete.”  
“Hello Laura.”  
“Why did you come home to come say hi to us hmmmm?”  
“Because you irritate me with dumb questions like that one and I do see Cora all the time.”  
“But why not come home and see the rest of us?”  
“Because Cora doesn't irritate me.”  
“Preach it Uncle Peter.”  
“Cora get off the phone, I’m talking to Peter.”  
“Laura, Cora, off, I’m not done talking to Claudia yet.”  
“Yet you spent five minutes playing tonsil hockey with dad.”  
Crash, thud, crash  
“Oh now what?!”  
Silence  
“I’m sorry, my family is currently busy being destructive. I hope we weren't too much of a nuisance to you tonight. Thank you for your time. Good Night.”  
That last voice struck Stiles to the bone. It was the sexiest voice his ears ever had the opportunity to listen too. It was like silk chocolate for his auditory system.  
“Well, who wants dessert?”


	11. Strange days Thursdays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience. Here is the next chapter. As always, kudos, comments and bookmarks are appreciated

Ah morning. The sun comes up, the birds sing, and the whole world starts to move forward. The best way to start the morning is with a nice, hot cup of coffee, a warm breakfast and the table, and the opportunity to just slowly wake up with the morning light as it fills you with light and joy, surrounded by family. That is how somebody should wake up, that being said, Stiles is not that somebody nor will he be is Chris insists on this stupid morning workout routines.  
“Come on Stiles, it’s just a little further. We’re almost back at the house. You’re doing great.”  
Chris Argent was one of those disgusting people who were chipper and happy in the morning.  
“You …” gasp “ said…” wheeze “ that…” more wheezing “ fifteen houses ago.”  
Stiles was not one of those people who were chipper and happy in the morning. If fact, he wouldn't even be up before 7:00 am if he has his way. Unfortunately for Stiles, he didn't get his way, so here he was running /trudging/ dragging behind Chris at 5:30 am before the damn sun was even up because his mother insisted on it and then warded the house so he couldn't sneak back in.  
“You’re doing great Stiles, I can see the house from here. Just push a little harder then you can rest. We’re almost at the drive way. Just a bit more …. and we’re done. Great Job Stiles, you ran five miles in thirty minutes, that’s a new best.”  
Stiles couldn't even breathe to tell Chris to shove it. He honestly felt like he lost a lung about three miles ago. He just stood there at the front door trying to catch his breath. He could actually get to his porch which meant that the ward was down. _Thank God for small miracles._  
“How about I get the door and you just try and relax your breathing.” Chris said in that tone gym trainers use when they don’t want their clients dropping dead on them. Stiles just waved at him which seemed to say “You do that.”  
“No, no, no. Allison, you let the guy lead. I dip you, you don’t dip me and please stop trying to throw me.”  
Ah, yes, Allison’s training. While Stiles was desperately trying to keep from coughing up his own heart, Allison was learning how to dance. Properly. With Peter. Stiles wasn't entirely sure who was suffering more.  
“Good Morning Princess, Morning Peter, who goes the dancing?” Chris asks in his disgustingly cheery tone. Of course he isn't out of breath at all. He could go longer if he wanted too. Damn him and his in-shape self and working lungs.  
“Oh just fine Christopher. You’re daughter is a natural when she isn't trying to judo throw me or stepping on my feet or taking the lead.”  
“I won’t step on your feet, Peter, if you didn't mix me up when I’m counting steps and I don’t always take the lead.” Allison retorted defiantly.  
Peter gave her a flat look. Stiles had regained enough of his breath back to enter the house.  
“Allison, you aren't going to be looking at your feet at the party and you must let the young man dancing with you lead.”  
“Why?”  
“Because that is how you ballroom dance. Isn't that right Stiles?”  
Stiles looked at the pair and attempted to answer between deep inhalations of glorious air.  
“Well, I guess. I mean that’s what dad and mom do when they dance and I guess that’s what I do when I dance.”  
It was an odd thing. Stiles, who lacked the ability to go through one P.E. class without having to sit out for five minutes and who was a prime example of any caster’s lack of physical prowess was a phenomenal dancer. Not the dancing that people do at clubs or the stuff that Beyonce does on stage, but things like swing dancing and waltzing he was great at.  
“it’s the Stilinski in you, Son. Your father’s family are all great dancers. I can’t explain why, they just are.” His mother told him when he asked once. “It’s one of the first reasons I fell in love with him. When we danced, it felt like flying. It’s a magic in itself.”  
Allison looked disappointed at him while Peter just nodded as if that settled the argument.  
Chris tried to reassure his daughter. “Don’t worry Allison, I can’t dance all that well either.”  
A snort came from Peter, Chris ignored it and continued “We’ll keep each other company and dance together at the ball.”  
“Dad, that’s sweet but I’m sixteen, I will be expected to dance with some of the other boys.”  
“No worries Allison, I will have you dancing like a proper debutante before Saturday if it kills me.” Peter interrupts with a small sense of his pride on the line.

Stiles just shakes his head and moves towards the kitchen expecting to see either of his parents making breakfast. What he doesn't expect is for his magic to suddenly blaze in response to a small box on the table in front of him. He doesn't understand why, but Stiles throws all he has at the box in hopes of doing something. The first magic released were shimmering waves of silver like moon beams When that didn't seem to work, he called on all of the air in the room to help crush the box. A whooshing sound like a vacuum and a ball of air surrounded the box. That drew everyone’s attention to the kitchen. Allison was there first.  
“Stiles, what’s wrong? What’s happening?”  
Stiles didn't answer, he just continued to combine the wind magic and silver waves to damage the box somehow. That put Allison on the defensive. Her warder instincts kicked in and she moved around to the other side of the kitchen table in order to help Stiles destroy the box. Allison grabbed a rolling pin from the counter and lifted it over her head when Claudia walked into the kitchen.  
“What is all the commotion about. I felt Stiles flare and..” She turned her head towards the table and the box. She cursed.  
“Gówno. Allison stop whatever it is you are about to do to any small box you find over there.”  
Allison stopped with the rolling pin over her head with a confused look on her face. Claudia turned to her son.  
“Spokój Bronisław.” The words were whispered but a sheet of silvery magic draped over Stiles like a blanket and his magic suddenly stopped, turned off like a hose. The same thing happened to the box. Stiles blinked a few times and turned his head towards his mother.  
“What…”  
Claudia smiled at him and patted him on the cheek.  
“Why don’t you and Allison go get showered and dressed and ready for school and I’ll have breakfast ready for you.”  
Stiles continued to look confused but nodded and left. Allison put the rolling pin down and followed after him, an equally confused look on her face. When the two teenagers were gone, Chris and Peter turned to Claudia. Chris spoke first.  
“Excuse me Claudia but..”  
“it’s a present.”  
“A what?”  
“A present. For Stiles. Well at least that’s what it’s suppose to be.”  
Peter looked flabbergasted.”That’s suppose to be a present! People aren't suppose to attack presents. Where did it even come from. It wasn't here when I woke up.”  
Claudia sighed and walked over to the table. She felt her way around the table until she felt the box. She put her hand on the top of it and another wave of power filled the room. To Chris and Peter, it looked like Claudia was surrounded by a silvery outline. A few seconds passed and Claudia released the magic. She sighed again.  
“I swear that man is the biggest dupek I have ever had the displeasure of knowing. Sending Stiles a present in a Black Willow box. No doubt to test him in some way.” Claudia spits on the box and it sizzles.The two men grimaced at the mention of Black Willow. It was one of the few living things most casters openly avoid. Peter cautiously speaks up.  
“So that means…”  
“Yes Peter, Alan Deaton is back in town.” The box bursts into flames.

Stiles doesn't ask about the box over breakfast nor does anyone else bring it up. His mother made waffles, potatoes, sausages and gravy, his father’s favorite. Well, she didn't actually make them, She sat at the table with the rest of the family while the food cooked itself. Stiles helped himself to everything because he was a growing boy and he had run five miles today (Don’t you dare eat all of that young man, your father will be home shortly and I want there to be something left for him to eat). Claudia makes Stiles and Allison lunch (once again she didn't actually make anything, it made itself) and the left for school. For once, the two were actually fairly early for class instead of only just making it. In the parking lot, Stiles noticed another car and two people up against it. It was Royce and Chase. Chase seemed to be covering Royce up against the car like he was trying to protect him from the world. Stiles was glad to see his friend back after he was taken out of the gym on Tuesday, but also worried. Royce looked like a raccoon, well more so than usual. He looked exhausted, like he was about to fall apart if Chase wasn't there. They looked like they were talking about something, or Chase was talking and Royce could barely nod.  
“ I heard Chase almost got into a fight with one of the senior warders when they wouldn't let him near Royce after the gym was evacuated. He spent most of yesterday in the weight rooms when Captain Glass wouldn't let him fight because he was so angry.” Stiles said to the air, a question in the statement.  
“Not angry Stiles, frustrated.” Allison and Stiles walked towards the school, giving the other two their privacy.

Today had been weird for Stiles since the incident with the box. Not a bad weird, a good weird but still weird. First, they were early for school. Second, there was no homework in his first three classes due to Homage and his birthday this weekend. Third, gym class was dancing, taught by an actual ballroom dancer, which included the warders. Allison, as it turned out, was a far better dancer than some of their classmates. This seemed to brighten her spirits quite a bit. Lunch was when Stiles could actually get a sense of the weirdness of the day.  
“Today has been weird.”  
“Why, because the whole school is preparing for your party on Saturday.” Giselle commented with a raised eyebrow.  
“Well, yes. Hey, did you see Royce today yet? I saw him in the parking lot this morning but haven’t seen him since.”  
Giselle put down her lunch. They were the first two at the table today as Stiles didn't need extra help with gym today as he usually does.  
“Actually, I have.” Giselle seemed quiet, like she had witnessed someone get told their dog died. “He was in my second period class today and I think he’s still there.”  
Stiles looked up from his lunch. Giselle’s second period was her biology class, her magical biology class. The class all casters with the talent to heal take in order to qualify to heal.  
“Why?”  
“We are studying magical ailments and injuries this week and Mrs. Sunset brought in Royce. She said that the greatest thing we can learn how to do , we must learn to revive. Stiles, I couldn't sense any life force from Royce when he sat in front of the class. He looked like he was a nithling. Chase was there too, looking like he was about to jump one of use if we so much as breathed on Royce wrong.”  
Stiles swallowed the bite he took while Giselle was talking.  
“What’s reviving?”  
“Oh, duh. You take chemistry. Reviving is when we as healers return life force back to a living thing that has been drained of it.”  
Stiles nodded his understanding. He had seen his mother do that with the plants in her garden. Doing it with a person must similar.  
“Do you know why he needed reviving. I mean, didn't he get taken to the Healers on Tuesday? Wouldn't they have done something like that?”  
“Well, he didn't get taken to the healers because there wasn't anything physically wrong with him and I think Mrs. Sunset had asked the Healers at the hospital if we could handle the reviving as we are closer in age to him. As for why he needed it, I asked Dr. Greybuck. It turns out that Royce’s wall mode drains him of most of his magic at once. That’s why it went up so quickly.”  
Stiles stared at his friend blankly as she finished her explanation when the weird things continued.  
“Hey Stiles, mind if I sit with you guys?” Roman Hale, a senior asking to sit with sophomores.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dupek-asshole  
> Spokoj - peace  
> Gowno - Shit


	12. Because Pie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a more lighthearted chapter than the last one. The next one will the day of the party. If anyone is willing to contribute ideas for characters or wants their characters as either party guest or in homage, please message me either here, my tumblr at http://overwhelmed-with-joy.tumblr.com/, or my email at recolburn@gmail.com. I will be taking requests until Sunday the 6th.

“Ummm….” turning to Giselle who simply shrugged “Yes?”  
“Cool.” Roman Hale, senior, was sitting with sophomores of his own free will? Stiles felt out with his magic to see if Roman was under any sort of spell or mind control. He could feel Giselle doing the same thing. Apparently Roman noticed something as well.  
“Everything cool?” Roman looked concerned at the two younger casters.  
“Just fine, why?”  
“You’re both glaring like there’s something evil behind me.”  
When neither Stiles nor Giselle could sense any form of spell on Roman, they both looked sheepish at him.  
“No, nothing wrong. Sorry, force of habit when someone new sits with us.” _Smooth Stilinski_.  
“Cool cool. Hey, so listen Stiles, I was wondering if I could talk to you about your party? My aunt had some questions about it?”  
“Sure, I love talking about things that have to do with me. Fire away.” Your aunt has questions?  
Roman seemed to be thinking and took a deep breath “So, when you gave the invitation, what that just an invitation to the birthday party or the coronation? What’s the dress, mom said formal, but how formal is formal? Like button down shirt and jeans or a tuxedo? Can I bring a date? Do I respond like a wedding? What do you want for a present? Do I bring you one present or two? How is Homage going to play into this? What’s there going to be to eat?”  
After Roman appeared to be finished for the moment, Stiles and Giselle stared at him for a moment trying to grasp all that was said in such a short period of time. Before Stiles could respond to any of the questions, another body plopped down at the table with several bright cardboard boxes. Stiles turned his attention to his friend, who was looking much better. In fact, he looked healthier than he usually did.  
“Sup, my homie. How you feeling dog.”  
“Stiles, what did I ask you about trying to sound gangster.”  
Stiles looked put out, pushing out his lower lip like a sulking child. “Don’t”  
“And why?” Royce continued using the tone of voice teachers use when they want you to explain your work. Stiles continued to look like he was sulking.  
“Because I’m white and nerdy.”  
“Thank you. And I’m feeling much better too, thanks for asking. Here, this is for you.” Royce placed one of the brightly colored boxes in front of Stiles and seemed to finally notice Roman sitting across the table. Roman waved, Royce did not.  
“Roman? Why are you here?” He turns to Stiles and Giselle “Why is he here?”  
“He’s asking Stiles about Saturday. Stiles was about to answer when you showed up.”  
“My apologies to Stiles for interrupting a potential rant.”  
“Apology accepted.” Stiles grinned and turned to Roman with his patented “Rant”face

“My birthday is a special occasion that only happens once a year. This year is a particularly important year as it falls the same day as two other special occasions. The Day of Homage and the Coronation of the new governor of the West Coast. As such, this important day becomes much more important. The invitation I gave you was to the actual coronation as my birthday party is open to the public. The entire town and anyone else who brings a gift is welcome to attend. The dress will be formal. Meaning that you will be required to wear at least a button down shirt, slacks, and a tie otherwise my friend Lydia will throw you out. You may wear a tux, and or at least a full suit to the coronation. You may bring as many friends as you like to the party, as long as they bring awesome gifts. No one is allowed to bring unawesome gifts.” At that point, Stiles looks expectantly at his friends at the table, and they nodded while rolling their eyes. Stiles smiled and continued. “A date is fine to the coronation, but only one. They must also be in formal wear. As for gifts, yes, bring as many gifts as you want. There is no such thing as too many gifts.”  
Stiles takes a breath and Royce buts in.  
“I’ll let you catch your breathe for a second.” He turns to Roman while handing another bright box to Giselle. “Homage is actually happening before the party. The formal gathering and declaration of homage occurs in the town square while Stiles party is getting the final touches at the Palace. That way, any personal homages given have the chance to get to know each other at the party and final decisions can be made.”  
“I see. That answers a lot of my questions.”Roman responded, nodding but looking completely frazzled.  
“It’s a lot easier to simply think of it as prom.” Giselle pointed out. “It’s a lot less stressful that way.”  
While the casters were talking to Roman, Allison and Chase walked up to the table. Both of the warders were surprised to see Roman sitting there.  
“Roman, dude, how’s it hanging?” Chase fist bumps Roman as he sits next to Royce, Royce hands him a box. Allison smiles and greets Roman in her polite manner. She sits next to Giselle and Royce hands her a box as well.  
“Thank you Royce,” she smiles and then looks at the box questioningly. Its never a smart idea to accept anything from a caster without knowing what they’re giving you. “What is it?”  
Royce smiles a rueful smile. “Pie”  
“Pie?” They all lift the lids and lo and behold “Pie.”  
“Sweet.Free Pie.” Stiles grabs a fork from the center of the table and starts digging in with gusto.  
“Thanks baby, but you didn’t need to do this.” Chase says asking kissing Royce.  
“yes, thank you Royce. Stiles, say thank you.” Stiles looks up and gives the universal man gesture of thanks for free food, a double thumbs up. Royce returns the gesture, again with a rueful smile.  
“I didn’t. My mother did.”

Across town, in the middle of the woods, in a large Victorian manor, Derek Hale was enjoying not having to do anything all day by not doing anything all day. He lay on the non broken couch all day, watching his various family members prepare for Saturday. His mother was in a tizzy. She looked like the tazmanian devil from the cartoons he use to watch as a kid. Roman had called a little while ago, apparently with the results of his mission Talia had given him this morning, as Talia had a notepad filled with writing about the party. Derek just shook his head at the big deal his mother was making out of all of this. He continued to pretend to read his book when Jan came in and sat on his feet.  
“Excuse me.”  
“Yes nephew.”  
“Do you mind?”  
“Not at all, but I must say, you must have been working out over there, your legs feel a lot harder than they use too.”  
Derek just stared at his aunt as she make herself more comfortable on his feet. Eventually, he shifts his weight and brought his feet up to a sitting position. Jan just smiles at him.  
“Shouldn’t you be doing something productive Jan?”  
“I did. I finished the design for the client and of course they love it, so now I’m waiting for the construction crew to get back to me.”  
“I mean, shouldn’t you be freaking out about Saturday like the rest of the women in this family.”  
“Why should I? I’m not going to Homage, I can’t. Dion is and he’s always prepared. He’s the one whose instructing Boyd on what to do and how to act. Erica is just going for the food and the chance to see a bunch of hot guys shirtless.”  
Derek just grunted and stared back at his book, rereading the same line over and over again.  
“If you’re going to pretend to read while secretly watching your mother have kittens, I suggest you at least turn a page every few minutes. Makes it more believable.”  
“You’re secretly enjoy watching our family panic don’t you? How are you qualified to be den mother?”  
“It’s not a secret dear. The whole family knows I like to watch them panic, especially Talia and Les. He almost passed a stone when Mr. Stilinski called him Archie on the phone the other day.” Jan chuckled at the memory, “And I’m qualified to be den mother because I’m the eldest and I have the best personality for the job. Someone needs to be able to make fun of this family without being afraid they might get their throats ripped out.”  
Jan had the best healing abilities of the whole family. She could literally pull herself back together from almost anything. This was a necessary trait for the woman whose job it was to teach the new wolves control. New wolves like Boyd and Erica, both who had joined the pack in the last couple of years and only recently had good enough control not to be watched by Jan during the full moon. Once the younger cousins started shifting, Jan would have her hands full again, but she seemed to enjoy the challenge that broke up her day as an architect.  
“So dear nephew, why aren’t you freaking out about Saturday. You and Marcus are up for Homage this year. I’d be hitting the gym if I was you.”  
“I have no need to hit the gym Jan,” Derek flashed a smug smile while flexing his arms and pecs, “And Marcus is only going because he’s scoping out the competition as mother requested.”  
“Well, aren’t we smug. Careful Derek, Casters love confident men but being too prideful can be dangerous. Don’t forget what happened to the Worth boys.”  
Derek shuddered at the memory. That was something all shifters had learn to avoid during Homage. Derek sighed as he sat up on the couch.  
“I don’t know Jan.I know this is important to mom and I don’t want to disappoint her again.”  
Jan gave her nephew a serious look and her tone went from playful to the tone she used on him when he was young and doing dangerous things during the moon.  
“You listen to me Derek Samson Hale, don’t you dare let your mother bully you into doing this because of her sick notion of family honor. It’s the women of this family that made the mistakes that got us in this mess in the first place, and it’s the women who need to fix it. Your mother tends to think that just because she’s the alpha that she gets to decide what every member of this family has to do. You are your own person. Yes, you have to suffer because of what your great aunts did, but you help better the lives of the entire supernatural community by being part of Homage. You need to find your reason for wanting to help the community and think of that when you are up there on Saturday.”  
Derek gave his aunt a small but warm smile.  
“Thanks Jan.”  
“Of course. Now do me a favor and go pick up Roman from school. Apparently his car is having trouble and I’m not letting RJ near my car.”

“Stiles, will you stop eating the pie. You’re going to get fat.” Allison pointed out while poking Stiles in his non existent tummy.  
“I can’t help it. It’s so good. It tastes like a miracle inside my mouth. You said so too.” Stiles complains as Allison attempts to wrestle the half eaten pie away from him. Royce had informed the group that his mother had made the pies for the kids that were involved with the incident in the gym in hopes of making them feel better. As his mother was part Sidhe, anything she made was made with fairy magic. That make these pies both amazingly delicious and slightly dangerous. Too much fairy food can cause a person to loose sense of reality. Thankfully, she only added enough to give anyone a slight buzz and a warm and happy glow, it eaten in moderation. Stiles was just a gluten. Royce had actually given Stiles another pie as he seemed to not want the first one to end.  
“Stiles I swear, I will tell Royce to never give you any more baked goods if you start on that second pie.”  
Stiles gasps like Allison had just informed him that she kicks puppies. “Allison, you wouldn’t.”  
“Watch me.”  
Neither of the teenagers noticed the black camaro rolling up to the parking lot, a handsome stranger getting out of the car and walking to the school until Stiles and he collide.  
“oof.” Stiles falls backwards  
“Oh God, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there. Are you alright?” Handsome stranger asks as he bends down to help Stiles up.  
“You didn’t see me, how can you not have seen me. I’m wearing bright red.” Stiles retorts as he pushes the strangers hand away, not looking up.  
“I really am sorry. I’m looking for my cousin, he’s suppose to meet me here. But that doesn’t excuse me not watching where I’m going. I really am sorry.”  
“yeah, yeah whatever.” Stiles stands up and stares into the face of his new god. He was literally physically perfect. His eyes, his face, his body, his hair. There wasn’t anything wrong with this man. Only seconds later does he recognize the voice too. It’s the voice from the  
phone. the voice he’s been secretly jerking off to for the last few days. Suddenly Stiles turns bright red, squeals like a girl, almost throws the extra pie at the man while saying “pie. yours.” grabbing Allison’s hand, running to the jeep, practically vaults in, and speeds away like a bat out of hell, leaving Derek confused until Roman shows up.  
“Hey Derek. Thanks for picking me up. Hey, Stiles gave you his pie.”  
 _Stiles gave me his pie._ Derek smiled.


	13. A Ball in Four Parts. Part I: Homage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for waiting. As always, comments are appreciated and I'm still taking requests for characters to attend the party and coronation

When Stiles and Allison returned to the Stilinski house, Stiles ran up to his room like the devil was on his heels. He didn’t even greet Peter or his mother who were in the kitchen. He simply ran into his room and slammed the door  
“Welcome Home Stiles, how was school?”  
“Oh just peachy keen Peter. I had a fabulous day learning magic.” Peter mocked responded in a high pitch voice. Claudia promptly swatted his shoulder. Allison walked in at a much more reasonable pace.  
“Hello Allison, how was school?”  
“Oh just peachy keen Aunt Claudia. I had a fabulous day learning to kick ass.” Allison responded in a perfect imitation of Peter. She gave Peter a very toothy grin as she said it. Peter returned the smile with an equally toothy one.  
“So Allison, care to explain why Stiles ran up to his room without greeting his mother and I?”  
“Because Stiles is a teenage girl.”  
“Did he get turned into a girl again? He should know how to change back by now.”  
“No Claudia, he was a boy. I think Allison means he’s behaving like a teenage girl.”  
“Why?”  
Allison sat down at the table after getting an apple to eat from the fridge. She took a very crunchy bite before responding.  
“Because pie.”  
Peter cocked his left eyebrow while Claudia started laughing.

Derek couldn’t stop smiling all the way home. Roman was starting to feel a bit scared. Derek never smiled this much for this long. He texted his mother that something was wrong with his his cousin. His mother asked what happened.  
Roman -Derek is starting to scare me mom  
 **Mama O - Why, what happened?**  
 **Roman - He won’t stp smiling.**  
 **Mama O - what kind of smile? Killer, angry, sadistic?**  
 **Roman - Happy.**  
 **Mama O - Happy? Does Derek even know what happy is?**  
 **Roman - What should I do? He’s starting to hum.**  
 **Mama O - Tuck and roll son, tuck and roll.**  
Obviously Roman wasn’t about to jump out of a moving car now. He knew how too, warders were trained to get out of any dangerous situation to save their casters, but Derek was driving 15 miles over the speed limit on dirt roads. That was stupid, even for a Hale, particularly the Hale who couldn’t heal himself. That being said, Roman got very close to the door and as kept a close eye on his cousin. Derek didn’t even notice. He was too busy thinking about Stiles.  
 _I wonder what he likes to eat? He smells like he like beef, but would he eat venison? I should probably hit the gym. Guys like him like guys with muscles right? I wonder what kind of flowers I should give him? What do you give guys? Do guys like flowers? I wonder what he’d look like under me? All that soft skin turning red and those beautiful eyes..._  
Thankfully, Roman did not need to tuck and roll as Derek got them both home alive, through barely in some cases. When the car finally did stop, Roman carefully ran for his life into the safety of this family’s home. Derek started sauntered in, still humming, meeting a concerned Olivia at the door.  
“Derek is everything alright?”  
“It’s wonderful Olivia.” Derek gave his aunt a kiss on both cheeks, startling the woman.  
“Why is that exactly dear nephew?” Weariness growing in the older betas voice.  
Derek gave a full mouth grin.  
“Because pie.”

Friday came and went. Stiles didn’t attend school that day but neither did half the school. Most were getting ready for Homage and Stiles birthday the next day. It was an unofficial holiday. The only students who attended were the ones who needed help with dance lessons or wanted to make up work missed early in the week. Allison was practicing dancing with Peter in the living room. Stiles on the other hand hadn’t left his room since the previous night. John was growing concerned for his son.  
“Are you sure I shouldn’t go up there and talk to him?”  
“John, dear, you must let him be. He’ll be fine, he simply had too much pie.”  
“Pie. What does pie have to do with why our son hasn’t left his room and why I hear sappy love songs coming from his room.”  
Claudia gives her husband a fond look. She loved how John worried about their son even though he was fully grown. John still saw Stiles as the little boy who would come crying to him when it started to rain or he had a nightmare or who wanted to stay up all night so his daddy could read him a bedtime story when he got off his shift.  
“John, ukochany, Stiles ate too much of Breanne pie and ran into someone he thought was attractive according to Allison.”  
John sagged with relief.  
“Now let’s get going John. We have to meet the rest of the Circle to prepare for tomorrow.”

“Pie?”  
“Pie.”  
“Derek’s acting like a loon because of pie?”  
“That’s what I said Les, Pie. Specifically Pecan Pie”  
“Why pie?”  
Olivia gave her brother-in-law an exasperated groan. They’ve been having this conversation since last night and Achilles did not seem to be getting it at all.  
“Olivia, why would my very manly son be acting like a twit because someone gave him a pie?”  
“Because Les, a boy gave him a pie.” She got the full story from Roman last night before talking to Talia and Les. It turns out that the pie was a gift from Breanne to her son, a gift from her son to Stiles, and from Stiles to Derek. That was three times the pie was presented as a gift. That was important.  
“And?” Olivia did not want to be having this conservation with Achilles. Achilles was human, raised in a family without any supernatural connections somewhere in the South.  
Olivia looked over at Janelle who had been staring at the pie. Her sister was den mother and was the one responsible for handling these types of things. Jan spoke up with a very serious tone.  
“Because Les, Derek is bisexual and someone has given him a gift of food.”  
Achilles gawked at the term bisexual but Janelle continued.  
“Which means that Derek is going to start courting this boy as per tradition.”

Saturday morning came, finally and Stiles couldn’t have been more excited if he injected pure caffeine into his system. He jumped/fell out of his bed and rushed to get into his clothes for the day. What he was going to wear was his favorite pair of loose fitting jeans,his comfy shirt and hoody. What was laid out for him was a pair of nice jeans, a red button down shirt, a suit jacket and a nice pair of new shoes.  
“This is not what I picked out last night.”  
Stiles would have been more troubled if the smell of eggs , kanapka , parowka and coffee. Stiles practically leaped down the stairs to find his birthday breakfast and his family. His mother was the first one at the table to hug him.  
“Wszystkiego najlepszego Bronisław.” His father came up next.  
“Happy Sixteenth Son.”  
The Stilinski family had a group hug until someone coughed.  
“May the rest of us greet the birthday boy as well? Happy Birthday Stiles.” Peter promptly gave Stiles a bear hug. Allison gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Chris gave him a handshake which stiles turned into a hug.  
“Now then, let’s eat. I’ve made all your favorites.” Stiles dug in with gusto.  
A little while later, after much food, Stiles remembered his clothes.  
“Mama, did you change my clothes?”  
“Yes I did.”  
“Why, I was going to hang out with Scott until tonight.”  
“That’s because you’re attending Homage this year Stiles and you will not look like a slob.”  
That had the note of finality to it and Stiles knew better than to argue. He was disappointed but he knew there was no way to argue with his mother on this point. She was part of the circle and as of today so was he.

Homage was different in every state. Some places turned it into a pageant, while some made it an auction, while others simply pulled names out of a jar. In Beacon Hills, Homage was more like a competition. Each person or thing would present their offering and try to explain why it was the best. The “objective” was for Homage to be “given” to the members of the Circle.  
Homage changed locations every time it was held. Last time, it was held at a local university football field, the year before was at an old theater. This year, Homage was located near the steps of city hall. A huge stage was placed in the center of the town similarly to ones set up for concerts in the park with speakers, lights, a giant flat screen on the back. Everyone presenting Homage had to be at Town Hall early to submit their offering. This is where the men of the Hale pack found themselves on Saturday morning after barely escaping Talia’s last minute panic attack. They were all wearing leather jackets, aviators, cowboy boots, and gelled hair (except Boyd). To anyone not familiar with the Hales, they looked like and acted like a biker gang with Achilles at the head. All that were missing were the cigarettes. Achilles and his “boys” swaggered over to a woman with true red hair whom most people couldn’t decide if she was curvy or slightly plump. She was sitting at a table with several older women. She was reading a book, an old book that smelled of old leather and dried flowers. Underneath it was a very familiar scent Derek could not place with finger on. He knew it but couldn’t remember from where. She addresses Derek’s uncle before the men were even at the table.  
“Good Morning Dion. How are you this morning? You are aware your party is late?” The woman had a pretty alto voice with a bit of a southern twang and something deeper to it. Something old. Dion Hale smiled at the woman as she put her book down and smiled up at him.  
“Good morning Bre. I’m sorry we’re late. Apparently our image took longer than expected to get ready.” Dion greeted while pointing to the younger boys who were attempting to look cool while transfixed on the surroundings. The entire space looked like a fair. The woman called Bre nodded and pulled up a laptop from the side of the table towards her.  
“Understandable. Now whose registering the offering?”  
“I am.” Achilles grunted with a mildly rude tone.  
“Lovely, I will need the number of offerings and names and type.” Bre retorted completely ignoring Achilles tone.  
“Three. Marcus Hale and Derek Hale, Vernon Boyd. Werewolves.”  
“Thank you. You offerings will be presented at the last block. Come back here at 3:00 pm for directions. Thank you for your Homage Offering.”  
The woman picked up the book and started reading again. Les looked a tad bit baffled while Dion just shook his head, a smile playing on his lips.  
“Come on guys, let’s get Erica and start checking out the competition. The casters won’t start showing up until 9:00 am anyways.”  
One of the younger boys who looked about 13 asked “Why did we have to be here so early, Uncle Dion, if Derek and Marcus aren’t being offered until this afternoon.”  
Dion smiled at his wife’s young cousin.  
“Because Jed, our family is part of the official Homage but we need to show support to the other families that aren’t and might be nervous.Besides, don’t you want to show off for the girls?”  
Jed was at that age when he know longer though girls were gross and wanted to impress them. He had asked his Uncle Dion, RJ and Les for help and they were more than happy to help the boy become a stud like them. Derek hadn’t been paying attention to much, still wondering about the boy Stiles and wondering if he was coming. From what he remembered from Thursday, the boy was with a pretty brunette. He must be a warder trainee. That means he’s available. he had spent all of the previous day in the gym getting pumped and practicing what he was going to say. Offering in the Official Homage were given more time to be presented and need to show off some skills to show they were valuable as homage. A few minutes later a voice resonated around the square.  
“Attention all participants in the first block, Please prepare and get in position, Homage will begin in 15 minutes.”

Stiles, his mother, his father, and Peter were escorted towards the Town Hall by both the deputies and warders. The Stilinski’s lived about 20 minutes away from the center of town but that was going to take longer due to all the traffic Homage caused. All the neighboring communities participating had booked hotel rooms either last night or on Thursday. This meant that the town was packed to the breaking point. Supernatural and natural participants set up booths and tables and were checking out the town. Some had come simply for Homage while others were there for the Birthday party / Coronation as well. The streets of Beacon Hills were flooded with tourists and guests and it seemed to take forever to get anywhere, even with the limousine and spells surrounding it. In other words, Stiles were bored and starting to get fidgety.  
“Why is this taking so long? Shouldn’t we be there already. Couldn’t we have just teleported there?”  
“Be patient Stiles, there’s no need to rush. We’ll get there when we get there. The deputies and warders are getting us there as soon as they can.” John reprimanded his son.  
“I agree with Stiles on this one. This shouldn’t be taking this long.” Peter commented. He glanced over at Claudia who looked like she was staring off into space. She blinked a couple of times before responding to Stiles and Peter.  
“Stiles, you know we can’t Teleport to Homage, the barriers are up are for good reason. As for why this is taking so long, Rachel says that their was an accident with an offering. Apparently somebody spoked it and it tried to run away. Gods know people should know better than to try and spook shifters. The rest of the Circle is already there and they are waiting for us to start.” Claudia rolled down and window and yelled to the closet warder.  
“Get everyone to get out of the way, we’re jumping the car.”  
The warder nodded, said something into a walkie talkie and everyone surrounding the car backed up very quickly. John looked over nervously at his wife.  
“Claude, is this a good idea?”  
“probably not, but I refuse to be anymore late that we already are. Stiles, some help. Everyone put on your seatbelts.”  
With a quick click, everyone, including the driver and security detail in the front of the car, put on their seatbelts. Claudia eyes started to glow, Stiles feeling his mother starting the spell, joined her. The car started to slowly to move up and down which increased quickly. Soon it started to leave the ground inch by inch. Within seconds, the car was moving making small jumps.  
“On my mark Stiles. 1...2...3… now.”  
Suddenly the car make a quick jump of about 5 feet of the ground and simply vanished. Over at town hall, the warders started moving people away from the curb, far enough that a limo could fit and no one could get hurt. As suddenly as it had vanished, the limo appeared at the curb with a soft thump. The security detail got out the front seat, moved around the car to open the back door and to help the passengers out. The two casters and the werewolf got out with no problem, only the Sheriff looked a little sick.  
“Excellent work Stiles, and we’ve made it just in time.”  
“Goody for us.” The Sheriff groaned.  
The Stilinski party moved towards Town Hall to where a medium sized group of people, all wearing formal casual clothes were gathered and talking. The woman called Bre was among them. She was the first one to notice the family.  
“It’s about time John, we were considering sending Sam to get you.”  
“No need Bre, we’re here and ready .”  
Horatio Greybuck turned to face the newcomers and smiled.  
“With the Sheriff, Claudia, and Stiles here, I believe the entire Circle is here. Shall we begin.”  
Everyone nodded and Horatio nodded to a short man with big ears. The man spoke and his voice resonated like thunder through the square.  
‘Attention, Attention, The Beacon Hills Homage has officially begun.”

The day of Homage went of without too many problems. The offerings were presented and the casters who wanted the offerings called out for acceptance of the offering. Different offerings were made. Some were skills or abilities, some were gifts to the town, while others presented creatures such as griffins or manticores. There was even a young pegasus that was accepted by a warder cadet. There were a few accidents, and a few spells went off from young casters who were getting bored but nothing life threatening or too dangerous. Overall, Homage was doing very well. 3:00 pm rolled around and Official Homage was about to start. Les gathered up his “boys” for some final words.  
“Now boys, this is our chance to shine. This is why we have come here. Marcus, Derek, Boyd, I'm so proud of you and whatever happens, now that I will do anything and everything in my power to help you through this.” Another man would have started to tear up but Les was more manly than that. He simply gave each of the three boys a manly pat on the back.  
“Now get up there and show these casters why Hale men are the best out there.”  
Marcus, Derek and Boyd donned their aviators, slicked back their hair, straightened their jackets and swaggered over to the stage.  
“Hale?” an elderly woman asked near the back of the stage.  
“That’s us.”  
“Good Luck boys.”

Official Homage was different that the rest of Homage as Official Homage was when the male descendants and relatives of the female shifters who took part in the days of blood were offered to the caster community, more specifically, the Circle, the casters whose jobs it were to protect Beacon Hills as the seat of power of the West Coast. The Circle consisted of the strongest casters in the West Coast and the Governor. It was Circles that stopped the days of Blood and it was to them Official Homage was given. Marcus Hale was the first offering to step onto the stage. As he did, a dome of darkness covered the stage area so that Marcus could not see the audience at all. A voice called out from the darkness.  
“Please present yourself.”  
Marcus took a deep breathe and began.  
“My name is Marcus. I’m 24, **_married_** , Beta werewolf of the Hale Pack. I have worked as a mechanic and know how to fix pretty much anything. I ride a motorcycle and can drive anything. I’m good with manual labor. I’m great with children. I hope to have some of my own one day. I speak four languages and I’m currently working on my degree in criminology. I have served in the Coast Guard for six years.”  
Another voice “Please remove your jacket and flex.”  
Marcus removed his leather jacket but kept the aviators on. He started to flex his biceps, triceps, pecs, and back. He went through the motions like a bodybuilder, which made sense since he was built like one. After about 5 minutes, Marcus was asked an odd question.  
“What is your were skill?” Marcus looked taken aback for a second. Casters weren’t suppose to know about those. Marcus regained his composure and stated simply.  
“My eyesight.”  
He was thanked and Derek was asked to come to the stage.  
“Please present yourself.”  
“My name is Derek. I’m 22, single, beta werewolf of the Hale Pack. I have worked as a first responders in the East Coast, a paramedic, and a volunteer firefighter. I have worked with the forestry service before and have worked with the search and rescue with Coast Guard.” Even though the only lights on were from the stage, Derek started to sweat. Anything he had practiced saying had flown right out of his head so he started to make it up.  
“I don’t have a degree and but have work experience.” _Yeah, that should impress them._  
A young voice asked “Can you remove your jacket and flex please.”  
Derek grinned to himself. This was something we could do to be impressive. He took off his jacket and aviators and heard a small gasp from somewhere. He started flexing. He didn’t do it like a bodybuilder but more fluid. He saw a pair of weight from earlier and started to lift. He know he was showing off but anything to help his chances. Another voice stopped him “Thank you. Now I have two questions for you. What is your were skill and did you enjoy the pie?”  
Derek answered confidently “My sense of smell and agility and..” _wait what? Pie?_  
After a few moments of silence, a female voice called out.  
“I accept your offering.”


	14. A Ball in Four Parts. Part II: Homage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being patient. As Always, I love comments and kudos. Good Karma points for everyone whose done it so far. I'm still taking character ideas if you want to offer any

Derek dropped the weights with a dumbfounded look on his face. He couldn’t have heard right. He hadn’t even spoken about why he should be accepted as an offering but here someone had already accepted him. What was more confusing was why they accepted him and not Marcus. Or had they accepted Marcus? He didn’t know. He did know that he should respond though.  
“Ummm… Thank you.”  
Derek picked up his jacket and left the stage. He saw Boyd enter the dome and walk up onto the stage.  
Outside of the dome, Derek saw his brother with a pensive look on his face. He tried to brighten up when he saw Derek.  
“How’d you do? Did you manage to give your whole speech? I did but they didn’t tell me anything afterwards. I wonder when we find out when we’ve been accepted and to whom?”  
Derek tried to answer the questions but his tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth. He was stunned. He had been accepted. The other Shifter families were present and some of them came up to Marcus and Derek to find out what it the process was like. Marcus tried to answer as best he could with a false bravado that he was obviously been accepted as Homage and tried to get Derek to respond to some of the questions as well. The same little old lady from early came over to the group of shifters with a smile that seemed to scare the young men.  
“Mr. Hale?” The shifters pointed to Derek and Marcus. She walked towards them with the group parting to give her room.  
“Mr. Hale?” Marcus answered  
“Yes?”  
“Would you come with me. I need to take your information and give your your instructions.”  
“Certainly.” Marcus smiled and started to walk towards the woman when she held up her hand.  
“I’m sorry, I should have been more specific. Mr. Derek Hale is the one I need to speak to.”  
It was Marcus’s turn to look stunned. He moved his head from the woman to his little brother and back again. Derek hadn’t made a move or made a sound since he left the dome. One of the other shifters elbowed him in the ribs hard, harder than probably necessary and when Derek eyes flashed and he started to snarl, the other shifter pointed to the woman who motioned for him to follow her. Derek gave himself a little shake and started after the woman, passing his older brother who still continued to stare and gawk at the two.  
On the inside of the dome or darkness, in a ring around the stage in chairs from a movie theater, sat the Circle of Beacon Hills as they judged the Homage and more importantly, were discussing what just happened. Actually, it wasn’t quite a discussion.  
“What in the seven hells was that Marin.” One voice whispered shouted.  
“What?” The voice called Marin asked innocently.  
“Don’t what us, you know exactly what you did.” Another voice retorted  
“I honestly have no idea why you’re so mad. All I did was ask a question.”  
“Don’t feed us horse shit Marin, you did more than ask a question.” A third voice chimed in.  
The voice called Marin gave a huff.  
“You people are acting like I insulted his mother. It was a harmless question and he didn’t even answer it.”  
“How was he suppose to answer it? Did you like the pie? Gods Marin, If Theo hadn’t accepted his offering, you would have exposed yourself.”  
“Excuse me, but we do have another offering on stage if you would like to finish this little argument later, and don’t think we won’t finish it Marin.” Horatio interjected. The over voices grew quite but you could tell that they were glaring at something. Horatio turned towards the stage.  
“Please present yourself young man.”  
“Hello, My name is Vernon Boyd.”

Stiles was bored. Like really bored. Bored out of his mind bored. Bored enough that the thought of being in Chemistry seemed more appealing. This was his birthday, he was suppose to be spoiled and having fun and eating junk food with his best buddies. Instead he was sitting under a tree with Peter who was reading some old book. He couldn’t even bring his gameboy or cellphone. Not that they would have worked this close to the dome, but it would have been something. Though he may be bored, at least he wasn’t hungry thankfully. Whenever somebody saw him, they brought him food.Stiles and Peter had ended up surrounded by a small fort of food, some healthy, most not. Most of these people were from out of town and were had turned homage into some sort of fair. That would have been a fun idea, a Homage fair. Then there would be games and rides to take his mind off of the boredom. When his family had first gotten to Town Hall and Homage started, Stiles got to participate in the judging got to select the offerings were accepted and to whom they went to. That had been fun. he knew it was his civic responsibility to make sure that the right people received Homage, but it was still fun getting to act like Simon Cowell on America's Got Talent. Unfortunately, once official Homage had started, he had been told that he had to go wait for his father. He knew that official Homage was only for the Circle and he wasn’t a part of it yet, but he was still bored.  
“You know what?”  
“What?” Peter asked still reading his book  
“We should have a Fair.”  
“We do: the county fair, four school fairs, the university fair, and the State fair. We also have the Spring and Autumn equinox and the Summer and Winter Solstice. I don’t know why you would want another one.”  
“I mean that we should have a homage fair. We have enough people visiting and we have the food.” Stiles motions to the ever growing food fort that was slowly becoming a real fort. Peter looked up from his book. There was the smell of dried flowers and old ink coming from it.  
“Actually we tried that once. Turned Homage into a festival of sorts. It started off pretty well until someone caused the Panic.”  
Stiles cringed. Everyone in California knew about the LA riots but the Panic Peter was talking about was much worse. It was the first time in 60 years that the Sgiathadair had been called on to separate Beacon Hills from the rest of the population.  
“Ok, so no on the fair idea. But I am so bored. Can’t I call Scott or Lydia to come and hang out.” Peter gave him a level look.  
“You know that bred casters aren’t allowed during official Homage. It’s tradition.” He looked at Stiles who looked dejected and his heart went out to the kid. It was his 16th birthday and he had to sit here instead of having fun with his friends. Peter was trying to think of a way to cheer Stiles up when a very familiar husky smell reached his nose. Inhaling a few quick breaths, Peter recognized the smell of his brother in laws. A cheshire grin appeared on his face.  
“Stiles, I would like to introduce somebody to you.” Stiles hadn’t noticed Peter’s smile. He was too busy eating from the fort of food.  
“Sure, why not.” Peter put the book down knowing that no one was going to steal it. He got up from the table and started to jog towards the smell. Stiles started jogging after him, realized by needed to preserve the food, cast a preservation spell so that none of it would go bad, and seemed to have lost track of Peter.

Les was sitting by his motorcycle, minding his own business, eating a hamburger and drinking a coke with RJ and Dion. They had been grumbling about the fact that there was no alcohol on the premise and “How was a guy suppose to eat a burger without a beer?” and “What’s with all the people?”. Of course they didn’t say that loud enough for a caster to hear it. RJ and Dion had been tense all day with so many born casters around. They seemed to be waiting for one of them to attack or something. Les was just put out that his sons had to compete with losers for this Homage shit. His sons were prime meat, the best of the best. Any caster should be honored to have them make their lives better instead of his sons having to compete for attention. It was insulting and ridiculous. That being said, Les wasn’t stupid enough to insult the caster community like that twice. Once was enough. He had learned his lesson the first time. Though, Casters know how to make damn good food. This was premium beef and organic vegetables. While Les was contemplating this while stuffing his face, one of the younger boys, one that wasn’t old enough to go wandering around trying to pick up girls, pulled on Les pant’s leg.  
“Uncle Les, Uncle Les”  
“Yes Tuck?” Les answered absent mindedly  
“ Uncle Les, there’s a wof here.”  
“Yes Tuck. Your Uncle RJ and Dion. You know that.”  
“No Uncle Les, It’s a different wof.”  
“Tuck, there are shifters all over the place, Chances are one of them is a wolf.”  
“No Uncle Les, this wof looks smells like aunty Ty.”  
“I beg your pardon Young Tucker , I smell much better than my sister does.”  
Les jumped and dropped his burger and all three men turn around to face a smiling Peter behind them. Peter walks up to them hugs them but Les and RJ stepped back. Les just glared and RJ looks like he might catch on fire if he hugged Peter. Only Dion returned Peter’s smile and hugs his brother-in-law in return.  
“Petey, how are you? How’s life?”  
“Oh just fine, you know, living in the lap of luxury and all that jazz.” He turns to the other two men. “And how are my other brothers doing? Enjoying the festivities? I’m shocked that you guys didn’t come and find me sooner. We could have all hung out, all the Hale men together.”  
“We are not your brothers Peter, just because we married your sisters does not make us brothers.” RJ managed to get out. Les just continued to glare at Peter.  
“Actually RJ, marrying my sisters does make you my brothers. But I digress, I wanted to introduce you to someone.” Peter turns around looking for someone until he spots Stiles looking lost. We waves until Stiles sees him and jogs over.  
“There you are Peter. You said you wanted to introduce me to somebody then leave when I was preparing the food. It was just going to pile up and spoil if I didn’t.”  
“I’m sorry, I was just super excited to introduce you to my brothers. Brothers, this is my protege. ” RJ and Les groan at that but Dion just smiles. He steps up first. He puts out his paw of a hand and firmly grasps Stiles. The shake is a bit stronger than expected.  
“Nice to meet you, I’m Dion Hale. Any friend of Peter’s is a friend of mine.”  
“Nice to meet you.” Stiles gingerly pulls his hand back and winces as he shakes it, as Dion might have cut off the circulation with his hand shake. Dion continues, completely ignoring the look of pain on Stiles face.  
“And these two lugs are RJ Hale and Achilles Hale.” At the name Achilles, Stiles looks startled. He gives Peter a quick look who just nods his head. “And this little man is Tucker Hale.” Dion looks around, noticing his nephew hiding behind Les motorcycle. Stiles puts on his “alarming disarming” smile and greets them.  
“Nice to meet all of you. I hope your enjoying yourselves.” He notices the food on the ground, “If you are guys are interested, you can join Peter and me at our table. We have plenty of food and are more than happy to share.”  
“My, what a splendid idea. You must join us. I insist.” Peter put a bit more emphasis on the last part. Dion looked more than happy at the prospect of more food and RJ started to relax. Even Tucker poked his head and moved over to his uncles at the mention of food. Only Les remained as straight backed.  
“So great, just follow me then.” Stiles continued to smile and the others followed. The older boys would be able to track them through smell so they weren’t worried about getting lost.  
Before Peter could take a step following the others, Les stopped him with a hand and a scowl.  
“What are you planning Peter? Is this some sort of set up?”  
Peter looked down at the hand and then up to Les’ face. His cheshire smile never left his face.  
“Setup? Me? Nonsense. My mother was the one who liked to set up people and Nancy’s the one who likes tricking people. Me, I’m just trying to bond with my family. I rarely get to see you and I miss you. Besides, I’m sure you’re just dying of hunger, with you dropping your burger and all.”  
Les just continues to scowl.  
“Listen hear Peter, if you think you’ll hurt my family, I’ll..” Peter’s smile dropped instantly and his eyes glowed blue. His tone was deadly serious.  
“You’ll what Les? punch me, hit me, kick my ass? Shot me? Kill me? And then what? Return to **my family’** s home only to be ripped to shreds by **my sisters** and **my family**. You think they will let you live if you do something to me again.” Peter’s eyes stopped glowing and his tone returned to it’s normal tone “Now, enough of his downer mood. Let’s join the others. There’s beer.” Les watched Peter join the others as he felt his old scar on his back.  
“It better be the good stuff.” He calls after them.

What John was expecting when he returned from talking with security and preparing Stiles gift was to see Peter and his son being bored as Homage continued. He’s then join them as they all waited and eat some of the food that he expected the casters had been giving Stiles. What he didn’t expect was to see a biker gang eating with his son. Well, actually, that happened before. He wasn’t expecting to see what looked like a biker gang and Achilles Hale sitting with his son, eating the food the casters had been giving to Stiles. In fact, it seemed like all the Hale men were present there except the ones that were being offered as Homage. Like Stiles, John wasn’t actually allowed to participate in Homage but he was busy making sure that nothing too terrible happened. The warders were still dealing with the damage of the spooked shifter from earlier. _Who thought it was a good idea to bring a were-bear to Homage._ Looking over the table, John couldn’t help but grin at the sight of Achilles Hale eating lunch with his son. The constipated look on his face probably came from having to be near Peter but it could also be the idea of him having accept food from another person. He was always so damn stubborn about things like that. He always had to be the alpha male, the big man on campus, the pinnacle of manliness. _There’s a reason he married Talia._ John decided that joining this shindig was a great idea. Apparently, so did Peter.  
“Sheriff, come sit down and join us for this magnificent feast? Is everything under control with the Fortins?”  
“Why Thank you Peter, I’d be delighted to join you.” John sat next to Stiles and across from Les. “And it seems that the Fortins have managed to calm down their runaway and the warders are currently escorting them back to their hotel.” John turned to face the other Hales. “Hello Archie, how are you today?”  
“Hello Sheriff, I’m as well as a man can be when he has to sell his sons into what accounts as indentured servitude and don’t call me Archie.”  
“Indentured Servitude? That seems a bit harsh. As I remember it, your mother thought it was a great idea and often volunteered to be the human judge. Your whole family loved participating at Homage.”  
Les gave the sheriff a glare that any werewolf would be proud of. John just smiled back with the same smile he gave criminals to show he wasn’t afraid of them.

“Now Mr. Hale, I need you to pay attention.” the little old lady said to Derek as they walked into the town hall and into an office where a skinny little man was typing. The door to the office had Homage Department on it. Derek nodded that he was paying attention, the lady smiled “Good. now your offering has officially been accepted and in a few minutes, you will meet the person who accepted it. Before we get to that, we need to you to be imputed into the town records. I’m going to ask you a few questions. What is your full name?”  
“Derek Samson Hale.”  
“What species of shifter are you?”  
“Werewolf”  
“Family?”  
“The Hale Pack.”  
“Blood type?”  
“A-”  
“Lovely, that’s all I need for the records. Ah,Ravel, just on time. Mr. Hale, I would like to introduce you to Ms. Ravell, this is the Caster who accepted your offering. Now, we’ll just leave you two alone so that you can get acquainted.”  
The woman Ravel was a very attractive Asian woman who was only a little shorter than Derek.  
“Very Nice to meet you Ms. Ravel. Thank you for accepting my offering.”  
“Please Derek, call me Theo, and I should be thank you for your offering. You have just saved Beacon Hills a great deal of stress.” The woman called Theo sat down in a chair, She motioned for Derek to do the same. Derek looked intrigued by what Theo just said.  
“Really, how so?”  
“You, my young man, are just the kind of person we’ve been looking for. The reason I accepted your offering was because I am in need of a strong man for a protection detail.”  
“Protection detail? Whose?”  
“Why the new governor of course.”

About an hour later, Claudia had had enough of Homage and decided to leave. Marin had continued to make a fool out of himself and was riling the others up. Sam and Breanne, Rachel and Al and already left to pick up their children and get ready for the party and Claudia decided that was a fine idea. The rest of the Circle could handle the rest of the Shifter families. She left the dome and walked over to the trees where she felt her son and husband at. She she got to the table, all she heard was snickering.  
“What exactly is so funny gentlemen?”  
“Hi mom, dad and Peter were trolling Mr. Hale all afternoon. It was hysterical.”  
Claudia put on a fake pout.  
“You were teasing Achilles without me, I’m hurt.” She put she hand to her heart. John and Peter finally broke out laughing.  
“I’m sorry love, but I couldn't resist. It was glorious watching him scowl and sweat the entire time. He couldn’t decide whether to walk away or continue eating.”  
“Well, I’m sorry I missed it. Now everyone get up. We have to go change.”  
“change for what?”  
“Why your party Stiles.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sgiathadair - Shield-bearer in Gaelic (It will make sense later)


	15. A Ball in Four Parts. Part III: The party part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being patient. Comments and kudos are always appreciated

(At the Chase Residence)  
Victor Chase was in trouble, and not the ordinary trouble a warder might find himself in usually. No, this was trouble that years of martial arts, sports and warder training did not prepare him for. This was the greatest challenge he ever faced in his young life and his father was making it worse.  
“Mooooom, please tell dad I do not need his fashion advice.”  
“Ruuuuth, please tell our son that I know what I’m talking about.”  
Ruth Chase ignored the cries from both her son and her husband as she finished cleaning her son’s tuxedo. She knew tonight was important, not only for the state, the West Coast, and the Caster population , it was also Victor’s first time officially meeting his boyfriends parents. Ruth and her husband Keith had met Royce a few times and were both stunned and impressed that Vic managed to snag one of the most most important Casters in California, the heir to the Sgiathadair, as a boyfriend. Royce was a nice boy and they knew that he made their son happier than he had ever been. Vic wanted so much to be Royce’s Warder but in order to do that, he first had to make a good impression with Royce’s parents. Parents he hadn’t formally met yet. That was what started the Chase men fashion debate for the evening.  
“Look here son, a man needs to show that he is an alpha, a manly man, a leader. You need to show them that you are a man worth trusting.”  
“And how, Dad, is dressing like you going to prove that I’m worthy of protecting Royce?”  
“Because, Son, it shows them that you are a man of character.”  
“It seems more like it telling them that I don’t know how to dress myself.”  
“Excuse me, but it was dressing like this that won your mother’s heart.”  
Ruth snorted at that but said nothing, just let her husband continue.  
“It’s just hair gel son, it’s not going to kill you. Match it with an unbuttoned collar and you'll be a hunk.” Vic just rolled his eyes at his father. They had been having this argument since the tux was delivered at noon about how to wear it. Victor wanted to look like James Bond, like Keith was insisting a greaser look would be better suited for their son. It made since, Keith argued, since he was riding a motorcycle to the ball. Ruth was getting tired of the pointless discussion.  
“Stop bickering like a bunch of girls and get over here Victor, I need to make sure that the jacket is pressed correctly.”  
Chase walked over to his mother’s wheelchair and put on the jacket Ruth handed him. It fit just perfectly.  
“Excellent, now get dressed quickly, it’s almost 6:00 pm and the party is starting at 7:00 pm. You wanted to get their early, remember?”  
Chase gave nervous smile to his mother. “Don’t worry, Sam and Bre will love you, just remember to make the point we came up with and you should have the paperwork filled out by tonight. Now scoot your caboose or else you’ll be late.”  
“Thanks mom,” he leaned down to kiss her cheek. Chase ran up to his room to quickly get changed and where is father ambushed him with hair gel. With a begrudging sigh, Chase got onto his babe to meet his baby.

(At The Martin Residence)  
Jackson Whitmore was bored out of his mind. Lydia had just spent the last 3 days looking for a dress that was just right and making sure that he looked just right too.  
“What kind of impression would I make if I looked fabulous but showed up with a slob.”  
So Jackson had spent 3 days looking at tuxedos as well but that wasn’t what was boring Jackson, at least not too much. What was boring Jackson today was all the things that Lydia had been shoving down his throat about how to behave at the ball. ALl the rules Caster society had and what he could and could not say. Apparently having gone to his parents business dinners was not the same thing as going to a Caster ball. For one thing, Jackson wasn’t allowed, under any circumstance, to make fun of Stiles.  
“Oh come on, not even a little teasing.”  
“None Jacks. These Casters are loyal to Stiles and anything rude or mean that you might say could get you turned into a worm, or a slug, or banished to Siberia in your underwear. Besides, it’s his birthday and I will have you two playing nice or so help me god…”  
Understandably, Lydia did not have to elaborate on the threat as Jackson and hastily agreed to play nice for the evening.  
“Lydia, are you almost ready, it’s 6:00 pm, didn’t you say we had to be there early for something.”  
“to meet the circle. be patient Jackson, I will be out when I am good and ready. Now, do you have your present?”  
“It’s in the car, where I should be.”  
“Good, are you wearing the tux I picked out for you?”  
“Yes”  
“ Did you do your hair?”  
“Yes mom. Honestly Lydia, we’re probably going to be the best looking people there. Why worry.”  
Lydia walked out of her closet in [a beautiful strapless dress with jewels along the corset](http://jpundits.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/silver-grey-dress-5.jpg)  
Jackson wolf whistled and Lydia waved a pillow to hit him in the head.  
“I’ll finish my makeup in the carriage.” Lydia started walking out of her room towards the front door.  
“Carriage? What carriage? Lydia what did you do to my car?”

(At the Hale Residence)  
“Maybe we should have stayed with the black one. Classic black is classy and sophisticated.”  
Roman groaned as his aunt was contemplating which jacket he should wear to the party and had been for the last 2 hours. Before that, it was the style of the tux, the way he should wear his hair, when he should arrive at the party, how he should arrive at the party, who he should take. It was a never ending list of what he should do and how he should do it.  
“This is a very important evening for our family and I don’t want you to give the wrong impression to these people. No pressure but this will impact the rest of our lives.”  
Thankfully his mother had but her foot down about the gift. Talia wanted Roman to present the new governor with a car or something equally ridiculous or even pledge to be his warder.  
“It would be a great partnership. You’d be with him everyday and build a lasting trust between the two of you that would eventually spread to the rest of this family allowing us to retake our rightful place at the top of the social ladder.”  
“Yes Talia, because that worked so well with Peter. You might also want to remember that Chris Argent decides which warder a caster gets and stop treating my son like he’s some sort of spy and pick a damn jacket already. You didn’t even spend this much time preparing for your own wedding.”  
Talia just huffed at her sister and decided that the red jacket with black trimming was just fine. Roman’s hair had been gelled back, and he was sprayed with Les cologne. Overall, Talia was pleased with Roman’s appearance. The girl he was taking as a date was the daughter for a family friend who was a puma shifter. She would be arriving in a few minutes. Hopefully she as prepared as Roman was or Talia was going to have a word with the girls’ mother.  
“Now Roman, what are you going to say when you met the new governor?” Roman gave his mother a pleading look.  
“For god’s and fishes Talia, Peace. Roman is suppose to be having a fun time tonight with his friends, not integrating the new governor. Roman, go make sure that your presents are wrapped while I have a word this your aunt.” Roman smiled, nodded and quickly left his room. Olivia gave Talia the same stare their mother use to give her when she did something particularly alpha-ish.  
“What?”  
“Don’t what me Talia Hale. Isn’t it bad enough that you make your own children feel like puppets when you're not training Laura to be your replacement, but now you’re moving on to the other children as well. You need to stop this obsessive behavior with reclaiming the family glory, otherwise you might end up like our aunts and grandmother.”  
Talia gawked at her sister. How dare she accuse her of being obsessive. She was driven, focussed, not obsessive.  
“Don’t you dare give me that “How dare you look”. Jan, Nancy and I have put up with a lot since you became alpha after Grams was banished but I will not “ Olivia slammed the nearby desk with a fist “let you turn our children into pawns.” Talia eyes start to glow red and attempted a retort when Olivia’s turned deep blue must faster and she held out a hand to silence her sister.  
“If you do not calm this behavior, I will ask Sam Colburn to come over. I think Laura is plenty ready to replace you as alpha.” All the anger left Talia with the mention of the Sam and her sisters steady heartbeat meaning she would do just that.

(At a random house in the suburbs of Beacon Hills)  
Isaac Lahey stared at himself in his boyfriends mirror. His lanky body was stuffed into a tuxedo that was just too big to be his. His curly hair looked like a bird’s nest after he attempted to comb it and his eyes looked a little frazzled with the stress of meeting his boyfriends classmates and attending such an important event. He was surprised when Danny informed him that he was going to be attending his friend’s Stiles birthday with him. Stiles was a Caster, a born Caster, and Isaac was a muggle if there ever was one. He had no idea what he was suppose to say or act or do at a Caster party.  
“Calm down Angel, everything will be fine “ Danny had told him constantly theses last 2 weeks “there are going to be other non-casters there and it’s the same as any other party, only probably better food.” That helped, a little, until Danny casually mentioned that the wear was formal. That’s when Isaac’s panic spiked. He didn’t own anything nice enough to attend a formal event. He had no money to buy anything either. Thankfully, Danny’s friend Jackson had an old tuxedo that didn’t fit him anymore and that he was happy to lend his friend. Isaac’s puppy dog eyes looked himself up and down in the mirror as he looked for anything that needed to be fixed. Danny was leaning on the door frame, smiling to himself as he watch his boyfriend. He looked too cute in the tuxedo and all frazzled. Now, as a good boyfriend, he was going to calm down Isaac before the poor boy burst into tears again. It was strange, around people, Isaac could equal Stiles in sassiness but when it was just him and Danny, he was still a little boy. Danny’s mother said it was because Danny spoiled him but Isaac needed spoiling after he was removed from his abusive father when he was ten.  
“You look fine Angel, all the other Casters are going to be jealous that I have the best looking date.” That seemed to calm Isaac down, as did the kiss to the forehead Danny gave him. “Now let’s get going. If we’re late, there isn’t going to be any food left.”

(The party)  
Stiles birthday party was being held in the outer woods of Beacon Hills, between the town and the Indian reservation, in what was essentially a crystal ball room modeled after one of the exhibition halls of the Crystal Palace in England. The outside entertainment had spent all day preparing and was finally ready for guests when Stilinski family and Peter rolled up in an open carriage like the ones used in central park that use to be a limousine. It was pulled by a team of six horses, all of pale gray or white. As the hosting family, Claudia and John had to be the one’s to welcome the guests while Stiles got to be the birthday boy. John exited the carriage and helped Claudia down while Stiles was staring at what was set up outside. It looked like Disneyland. There were rides such as roller coasters, a small ferris wheel, a zipper, several spinning rides, bumper cars, tea cups, and a bouncy castle and a plethora of games . There weren't any food vendors outside but that was because they were all inside. The staff, mostly muggles, noticed Stiles staring at everything and froze. They had no idea how to act around such an important Caster. Peter walked up to Stiles and motioned for the workers to continue.  
“Like it?”  
“This is AWESOME!” Stiles exclaims while jumping in the air. Peter just chuckles and half leads half drags away so that they can get dressed inside.  
About fifteen minutes later, the first guests started to arrive in their own carriages. Glowing balls of light, changing through various hues of colors, lined the way to the front of the hall. The front of the hall lit up like diamonds in the setting sun. It put any fairy tale castle to shame. One of the first carriages to arrive was the one carrying Chris, Allison, Scott and Melissa. Melissa had been friends with John Stilinski since 6th grade when they won their middle school science fair together and had been Claudia’s Maid of Honor at their wedding. She was also the one to deliver Stiles into the world. She had sat by Claudia’s side when she lost her sight and babysat Stiles when Circle business required his parents. Being friends with the Stilinski’s was also the reason Melissa was promoted to chief nurse at the hospital. And when Scott started using magic at 13, she knew exactly who she was sending him to to be trained. The close friendship between Scott and Stiles only mirrored the close friendship between their parents. For the night’s celebration, both parties were wearing the Stilinski family color. Allison was wearing a rather pretty [silver cocktail dress](http://www.alizeebridal.com/silver-scoop-knee-length-tulle-a-line-cocktail-dress-with-sequin-oet0032.html), which was both appropriate for the party and could be fought in should the need arise. Chris wore a classic black tuxedo with a silver vest and tie. Scott was wearing an entirely silver prom tux while Melissa wore a simple yet elegant silver lace dress. Claudia had told her to wear simple and that a friend of her’s was going to “meet” her later. Heaven only knew what that meant. Riding in the same carriage with Allison and Chris had been a rather pleasant experience for Melissa. She got to talk to an actual adult who wasn’t magical, who worked in a non-magical field and knew the strangeness of growing up with the Stilinski’s. For Scott, it was the longest 20 minutes of his life. The girl he had been crushing on for 3 years was sitting right across from him looking like a supermodel and he couldn’t even talk. He tried, lord knows he tried, but only unintelligible sounds came out until he was too embarrassed to try anymore and only shook or nodded his head when spoken too. He was going to make a better impression by the end of the night or else.  
When the carriage arrived at the Hall, Chris helped the girls out and Scott sorted of fell out. A deputy at the front door starting talking to Chris about the security detail. Scott, Allison, and Melissa were escorted inside where the the party was to be held. While Chris was talking, two more carriages arrived. One, a beautiful tradition Victorian style carriage in dark rosewood with gold and scarlet trim driven by four white horses. A footman dropped down from the top and opened the door, letting out a tall, blonde, lean man with tan skin and a beard wearing black and scarlet tuxedo and a willowy, blonde woman with fair skin wearing a scarlet and gold dress. Three boys, all tall, muscular and the spitting images of their father wearing similar tuxes came next followed by Giselle in a [soft rose dress](http://boards.weddingbee.com/topic/please-help-me-find-out-if-i-can-buy-this-antique-rose-and-white-dress/#axzz39fPjZfyG) with gold and scarlet flowers in her hair. The other carriage looked more like a stagecoach covered in intricate ivy patterns pulled by six horses. When it stopped, a very tall man who could have been mistaken for an Native American with rich, raven hair and a bushy mustache stepped out in a black tuxedo with a cobalt blue shirt and vest helped Breanne wearing a simple cobalt blue and emerald green strapless dress down. Royce followed after his mother in a blue jacket with black trim, a blue vest and tie, and a white shirt underneath and a top hat. The two families greeted one another with hugs and handshakes and entered the hall together.

Stiles waited excited for the first guests to arrive. He sat in at the table of honor, in the chair of honor, which kinda like a throne. He wore a silver jacket with black trim, silver pants, a silver and red vest, a black shirt and a silver tie. He wanted to wear metallic silver but his father vetoed that decision before it finished leaving Stiles mouth. Stiles had been pouty about it until his father begrudgingly agreed to let Stiles to make the silver shimmer, not shine, but shimmer. John wore something very similar to his son, only with a white shirt and Claudia wore [a beautiful silver lace dress.](http://www.needress.com/silver-sheath-satin-vneck-beaded-lace-bodice-sleeveless-wedding-dress-p-10047.html) The inside of the hall looked magnificent with tables, decorations, and food options that would impress the Queen of England. With the sun finally setting and the stars and moon coming out, the Stilinski family prepared for the first guests, the members of the circle. A doorman opened the doors at the top of the stars at the other end of the end and announced, “Alphonse and Rachel Carson. Their sons Raphael, Gabriel, and Michael. Their daughter Giselle.” The Carson Family descended the stairs and once at the bottom, Giselle ran, pushing past her parents to hug Stiles. The doorman opened the door again and announced “Samuel and Breanne Colburn .Their Son Royce.” Royce didn’t even walk down the stairs, he took them two at a time and ran to hug Stiles too. Caters were entering the hall with food. The party had officially begun.

Lydia and Jackson arrived around 6:45, the same time as most of the guests. Lydia was disappointed that they didn’t arrive sooner but Jackson was staring in awe of the Hall before them. He assumed that Stiles was going to have a boring party like a BBQ or something equally lame. He was not expecting the glitz and glamour that it turned out to be. Jackson tuned to Lydia who didn’t seemed phased at all. She simply stared at it in amused calculation.  
“I wonder if they actually managed to make the inside bigger than the outside? Oh stop looking like a fish Jackson, of course this is amazing and shiny and whatnot. It’s the governor birthday. Did you think it was going to be at Chuck E Cheeses? Now make sure you look sharp, there are going to be cameras and I want to look my best. Where did you tell Danny we were going to met him and his date?”  
Jackson returned this composure to his usual smug look, but one the inside he was still gawking. “I told him that we would be meeting him in the foyer.”  
“Good, that means we will all get to enter together.”  
“Are they going to announce us?”  
“Don’t be silly, only members of the Circle get announced and chance are that they are all here already.”  
The carriage pulled up to the front down and Jackson got out and helped Lydia down. A woman with a clipboard walked to Lydia.  
“Name?”  
“Lydia Martin and guest.”  
The woman checked something off on the clipboard and smiled at Lydia.  
“Would you like your presents carried in or would you like to deliver them?”  
“Let’s have them carried in.” The woman made a motion with her hands and two men wearing orange jackets went into the carriage to collect the presents. The woman turned back to Lydia.  
“The main party is through the grand doorway, while the food is too the left if you would like a sit down dinner, otherwise snacks are in the main party. The band is setting up outside around the right and someone will announce when they are ready. The rides and games are around the left.”  
“Thank you.” Lydia gave the woman a dazzling smile and pulled Jackson with her inside. Inside the forae, Danny and Isaac were waiting for them. Danny looked calm and composed as usual while Isaac looked at everything in wonder. He had no idea that something like this could exist inside of Beacon Hills. Magic was amazing. Danny noticed Lydia and Jackson and waved them over.  
“Jackson, Lydia, glad you guys found us. Ready to party?”  
“Absolutely.”

Stiles loved parties, especially parties where everyone was invited and no one was excluded. The more the merrier. Stiles also like being the reason for the party. Within a few minutes of Royce and Giselle’s arrival, the rest of the Circle arrived with their families. After them, the rest of the town and guests visiting for homage starting arriving. Soon the hall was filled with the noises of people talking, laughing, and having a good time. Stiles, Royce, Giselle, and Allison were sitting at the table of honor in the formal dining area. They were digging in to whatever was brought out at the moment, which was waffles.  
“So, when do we get to meet your brother from another mother, Stiles.” Royce asked through mouthfulls of breakfast goodness.  
“He should be here soon, he had to clean himself up a bit. I think the carriage ride was a teensy bit difficult for him.” Allison snorted at that remark. Stiles just smirked.  
“Speaking of waiting for people, Royce, where is Chase. Wasn’t he following you on his motorcycle?”  
“Dude, when did Chase get a motorcycle? Do you think he’ll let me ride it? That would be so cool.”  
“Calm down their birthday boy, I’m sure if you ask both Chase and your father politely, they’ll let you ride the motorcycle. And I have no idea where he went. I know he arrived right after us, but when he came inside, he sorta vanished on me.”  
“Strange.”  
“What’s strange?”  
“Scott dude, bro, welcome. Sit down and join us.” Stiles stood up and hug his bro and a chair moved other to them. “Peeps, this is my bestest bro in the world Scott McCall. Scott, I would like you to introduce you to my second bestest bro in the world, Royce Colburn, and my bestest sis, Giselle Carson.” Scott gave his crooked half smile to the Casters.  
“Nice to finally meet the other side of the terror duo we’ve heard so much about.” Giselle said in a charming tone and a small courtesy.  
“Nice to meet the other poor sod Stiles manages to convince to do terrible life choices with.” Royce shook Scotts hand. Allison just smiled and Scott blushed.  
“Now sit down so we can continue to eat waffles.”  
After a few minutes, Lydia and her group finally find Stiles.  
“Stiles, there you are. We’ve have been looking everywhere for you. You weren't in the main hall. Hello Allison”  
“Hi Lydia. you look beautiful.”  
“Thanks, I love your dress too, and You.” Lydia turns to Giselle, who have a fork full or waffle halfway to her mouth “you must tell me who does your hair. Are those real roses?”  
Lydia then promptly moves over to Giselle and moves a chair to sit next to the girl. The table expands to accommodate her.  
“Umm, my mother and yes?”  
“She does excellent work. Nice to meet you, my name is Lydia Martin and the tall one is my boyfriend Jackson Whittemore.”  
The stare Lydia is giving Stiles while she introduces herself is the clue Stiles gets to introduce everyone.  
“Right, my bad. While most of you know almost everyone else, Royce, Giselle, I would like to introduce my friends the beautiful Lydia Martin, the gentleman over here is Danny Mahealani, the tall one is Lydia’s boyfriend  
“Jackson Whittemore. The pleasure is all mine.”  
“Right and the guy next to Danny is?  
“This is my boyfriend, Isaac Lahey.” Isaac waves shyly.  
“Danny’s boyfriend Isaac Lahey. Friends, I would like to introduce Royce Colburn and Giselle Carson.”  
“Nice to meet you all.”  
“Stiles I think we’re going to have to move the table.”  
“Non sense, we can all squish together.”  
“That’s not what he means Scott.”  
Allison grabs onto Stiles hair and tucks her feet under her seat. All the other Casters do the same. The non-Casters look confused but follow suite. Soon Royce and Stiles eyes start to shine blue and silver, all the chairs around the table and the table to rise up into the air. Jackson squawks and Isaac grabs hold of Danny’s arm. Even Lydia looks nervous. The chairs slowly move away from the table while the table spins quickly and slowly starts to expand. The chairs move in the opposite direction of the spinning table for a few moments and then everything starts to slowly drop to the floor again. the bred Casters and non-Casters looked a bit unsettled.  
“Royce, your aim was off, Stiles has my plate.”

After a few more waffles, grilled cheese, salads, soup, and moving on to country fried chicken, Stiles notices a familiar face approaching, the smile on his face would have split it in half. Allison looks over in the direction that Stiles is grinning at and starts to grin as well.  
“What are you too grinning about? Is there something on my face?”  
Stiles and Allison just shake their heads.  
“What then?”  
“I think they’re smiling at me baby.”  
Royce swivels around to stare at his boyfriend who was not wearing the same thing he arrived at Royce’s house in. Chase was no longer wearing a classic black tuxedo and his highlights were no longer red. He was in blue. Not just blue, cobalt blue. His family’s blue. Even the studs in his ear were blue. Royce eyes bulged looking over his boyfriend, as Chase made a flashy turn to show off his new blue outfit.  
“Looks classy man.” Scott compliments Chase.  
“Thanks, I really like it. It looks good on me and it means a lot more to me.”  
“It’s a good color for you.” Lydia’s fashion critical eyes were approving. Chase gave her a warm smile. Stiles was grinning like a fool while Allison stood up to hug her friend. Giselle was looking around in her bag for something and Royce just continued to openly stare at his boyfriend. Finally after a few seconds he managed a rough  
“When?”  
“Tonight, just a few minutes ago actually. I spoke to your father and he approves and the Warder General approves as well. He’s filling out the paperwork now. As of tomorrow, I will be an official member of the Sgiathadair, there’s just one final thing.”  
Chase got down on one knee and took Royce’s hand.  
“Don’t you dare do anything until I find my phone.” Giselle pipped up “Damn, can’t find it. Stiles record it and send it to me.”  
“Already on it.” Stiles gleefully says while holding up his camera phone. No one noticed how quietly it suddenly got in the dinner hall with all eyes looking over at Royce and Chase.  
“May I continue now.” Stiles and Giselle nod. Chase then looks up into Royce’s eyes and speaks with as much reverence as his heart could manage ,“Royce Colburn, will you accept me as your warder.”  
Royce didn’t say anything for a few seconds and Chase started to get nervous until in a raspy voice choked with unshed tears, “Victor Chase, I accept you as my warder.” The cheering was deafening and the kiss was more passionate than either boy thought possible as Chase lifted Royce up.  
“That’s the one going on the wedding announcements.” Allison whispered to Stiles.

The first thing the Hale family hears as they approach the party is the sound of cheering coming from the Hall.  
“I guess we missed it.” RJ sounded way too pleased at the thought.  
“We didn’t, it’s only 7:35, chances are this is going to last until at least 9:00.” Dion pointed out. “Afterall, the coronation won't happen until SHE gets here and who knows how long that will be.”  
RJ looked put out but that didn’t stop the younger Hales from marveling at the splendor that was the party. They rarely got to visit amusement parks out of fear of shifting from too much excitement and here was an amusement park right in their own town. They all looked up to the adults and only Dion nodded back. The party was open to the whole town and he could smell the presence of other shifters already here. With permission given, the younger Hales ran off to enjoy themselves. The only Hales that weren’t even phased by the excitement were Les and Marcus. Marcus had moved from shock to outrage to pleading to gruelling acceptance that his little brother had been accepted as Homage and he had not. Hell, even Boyd had managed to be accepted Erica was thrilled out of her highlights that Boyd got accepted and the two were snuggling up the whole way here. Les was surprised that Derek got accepted. Not the fact he got accepted but that Theodora Ravel was the one who accepted him. It felt an odd taste in Les mouth but there were more important things to worry about.  
“Do you know if Roman has made it yet?” Les looks over at RJ. RJ nods.  
“Liv said that he left the house about 6:15, meaning he should be here by now. Talia sprayed him with your cologne so it might be a little hard to find him but he should be here.”  
In face Roman Hale was present at the party with his date Dawn Truett. The Truett family were werecats and Dawn was a puma. The Truett family hadn’t been part of the Days of Blood and still had good standing in town, meaning they were still allowed to live in town unlike the other shifters. The reason the Hale family asked Dawn to be Roman’s date was because she was use to being around casters. Her mother was a warder and she had grown up around casters for years so she was comfortable around them enough not to panic if they got to close or to cause them to panic. Roman on the other hand was as fidgety as a field mouse.  
“Will you calm down and eat.”  
“Sorry, sorry, I’m just nervous.”  
“How can you be nervous? You go to school with most of these people.”  
“Yeah, but there’s a lot riding on this night besides the party and hoping Stiles likes my gift. I have to make the new Governor like me and try to help my family.”  
“Woooow, Ms. Talia really did lay the pressure on you did she. Mom says that the new Governor doesn’t hold the same basis as the old one since he wasn’t alive when the Shifters attacked.”  
How someone who was a shifter so nonchalantly talk about the results of the Days of Blood was unbelievable but then Dawn was a cat and cats were all about nonchalants according to Olivia.  
“Roman?”  
“yes?”  
“Why are all the girls that pass our table staring at you like a piece of meat.”  
“Because I am a piece meat.” Dawn cocks an eyebrow at her date. Roman looks up from the steak he was eating and uses his head to motion towards a group of girls that were eyeing Roman like predators after an elk.  
“Those girls are senior Casters, and I’m a senior Warder cadet. If you weren’t here with me, I would be spending the entire evening running away from them trying to bond me.”  
“Don’t you want to be bonded? It’s that the whole point of being a warder is to be bonded to a Caster?”  
“It is and I do but I want to be able to pick the Caster I serve, not be bullied or browbeaten into it. Didn’t you mom chose her Caster.”  
“The first one no, the second one yes.”  
“Well, I want to be able to pick my Caster and I won’t let anyone pick for me.”  
“That means that you have an ideal Caster in mind don’t you.” Dawn all but purred, her eyes gaining the glassy look of a cat intrigued with something. Roman simply coughed, avoided her eyes and continued eating, his face a bright red. Dawn started to cackle.

“You know what?”  
“What Stiles?”  
“I feel like dancing.”  
Allison groaned. She was totally not ready for this yet. But that did not stop the birthday boy from standing on his chair and yelling. “Hey everybody. It time for a dance.” and with that, the entire hall moved into the bigger hall as one and where instruments magically started to warm themselves up. Lydia walks to up Stiles  
“I swear to god, if you make us polka, I will stab you in the eye and break your foot. I am not wearing the appropriate shoes for that.”  
“No worries Lydia, I was thinking more of swing dancing.”  
Lydia looked a little confused at the suggestion but Allison only groaned. Of course it had to be Swing dancing. it could be a nice waltz or a slow song, or even hell, even the damn polka, but no, Stiles had to pick swing dancing. Allison tried to get away before Stiles grabbed her hand.  
“Not so fast sweetheart, I need a partner and Lydia is already taken.” Allison turned to where her best friend was paired up, not with Jackson who had vanished to who knows where, but with a new deputy whom Allison couldn’t place the name.  
“Stiles remind me to kill you later.”  
“Will do Princess, will do.” And the music starting to play.

Jackson found himself introducing himself to various groups of very attractive young women whom all seemed to be impervious to his charm. Finding himself a bit parched, he sauntered over to a table where drinks were coming out of fountains. Over by one what looked like a swan and some clear liquid, Jackson spots two very lovely ladies not in a huge huddle. One had short blackish hair cut just above her shoulders wearing purple and a blonde with long white blond hair in a Rapunzel braid with flowers wearing green. Jackson decided to try his luck one more time.  
“Why hello ladies, what a magnificent evening it is. I hope you are enjoying yourselves. If you are not, please allow me to fix it for you.”  
Both girls turned to face him. The brunette gave him a very sultry smile and the blond hit her with a fan she was carrying. The blonde then turned to Jackson.  
“That you ever so kindly but we’re friends of the host and can easily fix anything ourselves.”  
“Not so quick Cindy. I like this one. He’s got something dangerous about him.”  
“No you don’t Margo. I will not have you hooking up with a “ the blonde called cindy looks Jackson up and down quickly “A lizard at Stiles party. I have better taste than that and besides, he’s taken.” She points to Lydia. Jackson looks stunned that she knew what he was.  
“So, that’s the fun part.”  
“What how did you know I was a Kanima?” The blonde looks up and starts blushing furiously. The brunette starts laughing and clutching her sides.  
“Oh, Cindy you did it again.”  
“Shut up Margo. It’s not funny.”  
“It is and you’re as red as Giselle’s hair now too.” The girl called Margo snaps her fingers and a chair and table float over to them. “Come, sit with us. I just know you’re going to be a blast to know.” Jackson grins and sits himself with at the table.


	16. A Ball in Four Parts. Part IV: The party part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate people being patient with me. I know how absolutely frustrating it can be waiting for a story to update.  
> Comments are always welcomed and appreciated. On a side note, If anyone knows what Native American Tribes are near where Beacon Hills is suppose to be, that would be very helpful.

“So… what are we doing here exactly”? Derek asks Theo as they enter the main hall of the Palace. Derek had been measured and given a designer tux on the way over from City Hall. Theo had spent the last two hours talking to Derek about his experiences in the Coast Guard and being a fireman. The woman was writing down his answers in what looked like a resume but Derek wasn’t paying to much attention as the little old ladies were busy taking his measurements for his tux.  
“We, Derek, are here to enjoy the party and free food.” Derek gave the woman a flat stare and she just shrugged and smiled. “Of course there’s important stuff that needs to be done tonight but that can wait till after the coronation. For now, eat, drink, and be merry.”  
As if following her own advice, Theo walked towards the buffet table after stopping a server for a glass of fancy looking juice. Derek huffed in exasperation.  
“Don’t mind Theo, dear nephew, she’s always a bit irritating.” Derek turned to find his Uncle Peter in a silver and black tuxedo, carrying a large plate of meat and fires. “It’s rather strange that she has such big responsibilities considering how irritating she can be. Burger?”  
Derek gratefully took the burger offered. He hadn’t eaten since before Homage due to nerves and didn’t really have a chance while talking to Theo. He scarfed it down in three huge bites.  
Peter smirked and handed him another which disappeared just as quickly. After the third burger, Derek was satisfied enough to actually have a conversation with his uncle.  
“Thanks for the burgers Peter, they was surprisingly filling.”  
“Of course they were, they were buffalo burgers. The new governor is allergic to beef, so this was the alternative now where’s now hug?” Peter put down his plate and stretched his arms out for his larger nephew to give him a wolf hug. Derek obliged and the two men were squeezing each other with strength that would have crushed a normal person. The two finished, panting and trying to get air into their lungs after what they affectionately called the “Hale Family Hug of Death”.  
“So, dear nephew, how was the East Coast? Your last letter said that you were thinking of skipping out on homage. What changed your mind?”  
“It was wet and muggy and cold but there were so many wolf packs Peter. I couldn’t believe the number of packs that were still intact. I meet with the Counsel of Twelve Moons and meet with the Appalachian Alpha. I learned so much from them, things I wouldn’t and couldn’t imagine learning here.” The smile of Derek’s face was one that Peter had not seen in a long time. His nephew had been to sullen after Jennifer. It was good to know that somethings could bring back the warm glow he remembered Derek having as a child. “Shifters weren’t treated like monsters over there and I was offered an Internship with the Counsel.”  
“That’s wonderful news, and that explains why you didn’t want to come back but why did you. It seems to me that you had a good like set up for you there.”  
Derek’s face didn’t exactly darken but it wasn’t as bright as it was a minute ago. It was as if he was recalling something that was troubling but not necessarily bad.  
“Peter, do you believe in prophecy?” Ah, so that’s the problem.  
“It depends on who’s giving it to me. Seers aren’t really that trustworthy since they can never actually give you a straight answer and Oracles tend to make things too cryptic. Now an actual prophet telling me something, then yes, I would believe them. Why? Did some crazy old goat give you a prophecy that you’re trying to solve? I’m all ears and willing to help.”  
The way that Peter smiled after that last bit told Derek that while his Uncle might be willing to help, half the family or town would be involved in the process as well. Derek knew it was a bad idea but it was his only one at the time.  
“It wasn’t a goat, it was a pig actually.” Peter motioned for Derek to continue “It was pig i was rescuing from a flood. I had managed to get it out of a sinkhole it was drowning in. After it had been returned to it’s owners and before I left it turned to me and I guess revealed “You must chase the Moon from across the Sea to find a fox that will steal that which is most precious to you and replace it something more valuable than your life then you shall find happiness Wolf.”” Derek looked at his uncle expectantly. Peter stared back at him.  
“That’s it?”  
“That it.”  
“Well, that’s not much to go on is it?”  
“Nope.”  
“Well, it sounds like you’ve got mixed up with a bit of mess nephew. Why did you think it meant for you to come home? Derek? Derek?”  
WHile Peter was talking, Derek spotting someone from the corner of his eye. The same someone Derek had been thinking about all week and had been trying to find and here he was, dancing with the girl from earlier too. Derek had been so busy paying attention to the boy he hadn't been paying attention which is how Peter managed to box his ears.  
“Oww, that the Hell?!”  
“Just seeing if you were paying attention, which it turns out, you weren’t.” Peter looked over in the direction Derek had been drooling over a second ago. “If you wanted to dance, dear nephew, all you had to do was say so.”  
Derek headed over to the dance floor, trying to ignore a smirking Peter.

Allison had greatly improved in her dancing. She only managed to step on Stiles’s toe three times which was a new record for her. Thankfully, Stiles had been wearing enchanted shoes that prevented the usual squashing that goes with dancing with Allison. Peter would be proud.  
“How was that?” Allison smiled proudly. She managed to go through the whole song and didn’t throw Stiles.  
“Great, you did great. Peter would be proud Princess.”  
“Aww, shucks.” Allison punches Stiles in the shoulder, deliberately strong enough to cause a bruise. “Now I’m going to get something to drink, you want anything?”  
Stiles was rubbing his arm where Allison had hit him and shook his head. Crazy Amazon girls and their crazy Amazon strength.  
“That looked like it hurt.”  
“Not really, she’s mostly all bark and no bite, until she’s all bite and not bark.”  
Stiles hadn’t been paying attention and answered the question without turning around.  
“You sure you don’t want some ice for that?”  
“Dude, I’m sure but thanks….” Stiles finally turned around to find Mr. Perfect standing in front of him looking like he had just stepped out from GQ or one of those ridiculous heavy wedding magazines that Lydia reads religiously. Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome continued to look at Stiles with concern in his memorizing green (no brown, no wait green, gold? Ah, pudding cups, he was going to ask one of the girls later) eyes. Stiles wasn’t prepared to run into Mr. Hotness personified at his birthday party and in usual Stiles fashion, said something he regretted the moment he opened his mouth.  
“You’re a lot hotter than I remember.” Derek’s eyes widened and Stiles really wish he could swallow his tongue right now.  
“You remember me? That's good to know because I certainly remember you.”  
Stiles visibly gulped and his face turned bright red. A few feet away, a tray of egg rolls caught on fire. Thankfully, another Caster simply collected the flames in his hand and crumbled them up like old tissue before anything else happened. Derek gave him a questionly side glance and if Stiles got any redder, he’d burst into flames and his mother would not be happy about him ruining his new tux.  
“Well, it was nice seeing you again…?”  
“Stiles. My name is Stiles.”  
“Stiles.” Derek looked like he was tasting the name on his tongue “I’m Derek. It was nice seeing you again.”  
“Wait...umm” Stiles didn’t want Mr. Hotness to leave so he did the only thing he could think of. He mentally asked the instruments to play something. Anything. And so they did. Sleeping Beauty’s Waltz started to play. Couples not dancing before moved towards the dance floor while girls dragged their dates who were still eating at tables. Couples got into position in circles preparing for the dance. Derek noticed Stiles still blushing and grinned to himself, what a perfect song to start wooing to. Derek walked up to Stiles “May I have this dance Stiles.”  
“Yes, yes, absolutely, yep. I mean, yes you may Derek.” As the music gained momentum, Derek bowed to Stiles with the other men blowing to their dates and the waltz began.

Derek was greatly surprised at how agile and graceful Stiles was while dancing. He had always thought Casters were clumsy and klutzy but dancing with Stiles prove to be anything but. Even though Derek was “the man” in the pair, Stiles led without even realizing he was. Even going backwards, Stiles knew exactly where to but his feet and spun them in a circle while surrounded by three larger circles all going in opposite directions. It all flowed so perfectly that Derek briefly thought it was choreographed. Another pair of boys danced in the circle closest to them and seemed to be completely lost to the music as both had their eyes shut and foreheads almost touching but they never lost step. Even the turns and lifts were in synch. Derek found it strange that he was lifting Stiles even though he had never actually learned to Waltz in his life. The really impressive pair, though, was a man and women in silver dancing in the very center. The woman’s hand was holding up her dress like Belle did in the movie and the other one was clasped in the man’s gently hold. They were magnificent to watch. They moved so gracefully that they didn’t even appear to be dancing, but flying across the floor. He did find it strange that almost all of the women weren’t wearing shoes. Derek had never seen so many dainty feet in his life. It was an experience right out of a Disney movie and he would have been embarrassed by all of the unmanliness if it wasn’t for the boy in his arms. The Smile and blush on Stiles face removed any and all worries Derek could even think of. It was a perfect moment when Derek dipped Stiles at the end of the song. After the song was through and everybody clapped, a man walked into the hall through a pair of doors leading to the outside.  
“The band is ready now.” he announced. All of the younger guests screamed and ran towards the door while the older guests merely smiled and walked towards the dining hall. Stiles had been one of the first to run outside and Derek was about to follow when Theo walked up to him, grabbed his arm and turned him towards the dining hall to join the other adults.  
“Time to pay the Piper, Derek.”

Stella Noctis was one of the , if not the , most famous bands among Casters as the entire band were Casters. It consisted of three girls and two boys. Each of the band members had a different color and the hair match those colors. The band was a Symphonic Metal band and had just finished their tour in the United States with Beacon Hills being a private performance for the new Governor. The band got to enjoy the festivities of Homage and the birthday party as well, which was great because free cake. The band had been selected because it was one of Stiles’s favorite bands and he even got to join the band in singing some of their better known songs. For the last hour and a half, Stiles got to be a Rock Star and get a live recording of the songs the band had never played before. It was glorious. While Stiles was still coming down from the high of getting to meet his idols, one of the deputies came out to talk to Stiles.  
“The Sheriff says it’s time for presents.”  
“PRESENTS!!” Stiles squealed (which he later refused to admit he did) and the audience and band walked back into the redecorated main hall for the presentation of presents.

“My family and I would like to thank you all for coming out to celebrate Stiles 16th birthday with us tonight and making Homage a success this morning. It has been a rather quiet Homage this year,” a round of chuckling passed through the guests as Claudia paused in her speech. “After the celebration ends tonight, Loriann Gibson will pair up each accepted Homage with the acceptor by the end of tomorrow and Monday, your work will officially begin.” Claudia moved over to where her son and husband were sitting, her voice still magically amplified. “Now as tradition dictates, presents will be presented by guests while we have cake and once everyone else has given their gifts, the members of the Circle will present theirs. Now in the words of an old friend Let Them Eat Cake.” Trays and trays and trolleys of cakes entered the dining hall ranging from simple white cake to the more succulent and delicious red velvet. Every guest was allowed to have whatever kind of cake they wanted while the close friends and family of Stiles got the officially birthday cake.

After the concert and dancing with the rather cute deputy, Lydia found JAckson talking to two girls over by a ice sculpture of a dragon. What she was surprised to see wasn’t Jackson talking to other girls, but that the other girls were actually laughing as Jackson talked. No one thought Jackson was funny, not even her or Danny and they often gave him pity laughs to make him feel better. As it was time for cake, she decided to grace the table where her boyfriend sat.  
“Having fun Sugarplum?” Jackson turned around to see Lydia with a small smirk on her face.  
“Sugarplum, that’s her nickname for you? No wonder you refused to tell us. That is so adorable.” The girl with shorter hair in lilac said while the blonde in mint green hid her face in her drink.  
“Lydia, babe, I thought we agreed not to call me that in front of people.”  
“I don’t remembering agreeing to that. You must have agreed with Danny.” That caused the two girls to both snort loudly and the blonde to almost choke. “if you would like, I can get him other here to confirm it, puddin pie.”  
“Please stop” the brunette said, her face turning red from suppressing a laugh “Otherwise I might start choking. Please sit, sit.” ANother chair moved over and Lydia gracefully slid into it and next to a furiously red Jackson.  
“Jackson never mentioned how funny his girlfriend was.” The blonde mentioned after she had calmed down enough. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Cynthia Evers and this horrid woman next to me is Margo Greybuck.” They both held out their hands as proper ladies would. Lydia responded in kind.  
“My name is Lydia Martin. Greybuck? Isn’t a Greybuck the headmaster of the magic school?”  
“He’s my father, or well, second father actually, but yes. Do you know him?”  
“I’ve read his research on harmonizing magically fields and elemental pillar stability. Both were quite fascinating considering that he himself cannot use elemental magic.”  
Margo nodded as if she expected as much while Cynthia and Jackson were picking out cake from the trolley.  
“I’m guessing you’re a bred Caster yourself then, born Casters don’t actually read any of the research papers Horatio puts out simply because it’s taught to them at school anyways.”  
“While yes, I will be starting on Monday actually.”  
“Oh Good, that means we can recruit you for physics before the trolls in engineering get you.” Cynthia said around a mouthful of cake.  
“Are there trolls at magic school too?” A male voice said behind Lydia. Danny and Isaac looked flushed but happy from all the jumping around they did during the concert.  
“Not literally, though sometimes you can’t tell, it’s just they tend to forget to clean themselves up after the lessons.”  
“It a wonder that any of them end up bonded.”  
“Bonded, like Royce and Chase?” Isaac asked while sitting down and rubbing his feet. Margo and Cynthia eyes popped at the question.  
“Royce bonded Chase? When? ”  
“Tonight, about 2 hours ago.” Lydia responded “Stiles got it on his phone.”  
“Damn him. I knew that boy was going to. I should find Roman and bond him before someone else gets him.” Margo seemed to be getting agitated with each passing second.  
“Now wait a second Margo, let’s make sure that we got this straight before you start breaking the law. Did Royce bond chase? Like, actually bond him?”  
“Well, Chase got on one knee like he was going to propose and asked if Royce would accept him as his warder and Royce said yes.”  
Cynthia let out sigh and Mardo seemed to deflate a bit.  
“Ok, that makes more sense.”  
“It does, how?” Jackson inquired and danny nodded  
“Royce hasn’t formally bonded Chase yet. They’re given their word, which creates a bond but the bond has been solidified yet.”  
“And you know that how?” Lydia asked with an actual hint of curiosity.  
“Because if they had actually bonded, you would have seen it. It’s a powerful thing, making a bond with a warder. Even people without magic can feel it when it happens.” Margo explained.  
“You know, they’re probably going to be waiting for after the coronation. It would be impressive for his first act as Governor to proclaim a bonding.”  
“that reminds me, why do they call it a coronation. Isn't a governor an elected position?”  
Margo and Cynthia giggled at Isaac’s question. Isaac blushed.  
“We’re sorry, we’re not trying to make you feel bad. It’s just something the whole Caster community already knows. The reason it’s called a coronation is because he’s getting a crown.”

 

This was a good birthday for Stiles. He was getting some awesome gifts this year. He’d gotten a week pass to Disneyland, gift certificates to his favorite stores, some really nice clothes, a new computer to be built to his specifications, the douche Jackson got him a certificate for a complete car detailing, Allison got him a pair of actual light sabers that his father promptly confiscated until Stiles could prove he could he trusted with them, Chase was going to give him motorcycle lessons under the watchful eye of Chris Argent, Scott had gotten him all the new comics he really wanted, while someone was going to let him rent out an entire theater for whatever he wanted for a weekend, Danny and Isaac (who apparently has a wicked sense of humor when his boyfriend isn’t around) got him a laser tag set, both of his parents groaned at that. Melissa had made him a new sweater which was good because he had accidentally destroyed his last hoodie a while ago. Roman Hale, who Stiles was both shocked and glad he actually managed to come gave Stiles a rather unusual gift. Something that looked like a backpack and a card that simply had Roman’s name on it.  
“What is it?”  
“It’s a wilderness survival pack and my undying loyalty.” Peter, who was sitting next to the Sheriff silently beat his head against the table while unbeknownst, the other Hale males were doing the same thing. That last thing had Talia written all over it.  
“I was going to get you a snake but I couldn't catch one.” Stiles looked disappointed at the thought of not getting a snake. His mother quickly but an end to that train of thought.  
“No Stiles, no snakes.”  
“But…”  
“No.”  
“Fine.”  
Lydia’s gift had been completely unexpected. She had presented him with a mythril shirt like the one Frodo had. How Lydia managed to get mythril in North America was a testament to how connected this girl was. It was by far his most impressive gift but the Circle had yet to present their gifts. Those gifts would be actually presented to Stiles instead of people just coming up to him and giving him a gift. The entire hall moved to the sides while Stiles throne was up front, like in an actual throne room. The lights were all dimmed so that only the light of the stars and moon lit the hall. Everyone got quiet while the families of the Circle got up one by one to present their gifts. The first family was the Greybucks. Margo came up to Stiles and gave him a crystal ball with snow inside.  
“A Snow globe? I mean it’s really pretty and nice but a snow globe?” Margo just giggled.  
“Not just a snow globe silly. Feel it,” Stiles touched the actual crystal. It felt cold, like it had just been in the freezer or something. He looked up surprised. “It’s a shard of the North Wind. It can bring a gentle snowfall or a giant blizzard, depending on how much you shake it.”  
“Wow, thank you.” Stiles hadn't seen much snow in his life and this was far better than the small amounts he could make himself. The Greybucks bowed and returned to their seats. The next family were the Carsons. The three sons offered themselves as members of his personal guard which Giselle just rolled her eyes at. All three of her brothers were wild wizards, just like her mother. They couldn’t actually come up with a good present idea so they gave themselves instead. Very typical wizard behavior. Giselle glided up to Stiles, kissed him on both cheeks before removing a small velvet pouch from her dress. She gently placed the pouch in his hands and closed his hands around it. It felt warm. Not warm, like just out of the microwave warm, but the warm you get from snuggling up with your dog when it’s cold outside. Warm brownies just out of the oven warm. Hugs you get when you really need one warm. It was the kind of warm that fills your soul with light and joy. It left Stiles a bit misty eyed from just holding it.  
“What is it?” He asked his friend quietly while trying to wipe away tears.  
“See for yourself.” Stiles ever so gently opened the pouch and a very warm and bright light filled the hall with it’s radiance. Inside the pouch was a small glass bottle, like one that would normally hold perfume, filled with light.  
“I don’t understand, what is it?”  
“It’s a Dawn of a New Day.” murmurs of awe and appreciation rang through the Casters. Liquid light was hard to make and even harder to bottle. The first rays of a new day were very powerful and contained all the hopes the day would bring. It was very powerful good magic.  
Stiles got up and kissed Giselle on both cheeks. On the second kiss, he whispered  
“Thank you” and Giselle and her family bowed to Stiles. The next person was a dark skinned man that Stiles didn’t recognize. He was of average height, average weight, and there wasn’t anything particularly noticeable except for the very odd aura he seemed to let off. Stiles knew something had to be wrong because he heard a few gasps from the crowd and he left his mother preparing a spell. As if he hadn’t noticed anything, the dark skinned man walked up to Stiles, bowed and in a deep, mysterious voice;  
“Greeting Stiles, you’ve gotten bigger since the last time I saw you. You’re looking very well and I can see that you’ve become quite Caster since I’ve been gone. That’s good, you must make your parents very proud.”  
“He certainly does.” His father said in a surprisingly hostile tone.  
“I’m glad to hear that. You’re a spark aren’t you. Yes, just like your grandfather. I know that you’ll do great things Stiles. After all, you have all the talent and have some of the best Casters in the world teaching you. That being said, I certainly think my gift will benefit you, if not now, in the future.” The man pulled out a long slim box tried in purple ribbon.  
“I do hope we get to speak again soon Stiles, and Happy Birthday.” And with that, the man left.  
Stiles had no idea what was going on but a collective sigh escaped the audience. His parents were muttering behind him about something while the next family came up. It was the Colburns. Sam was talking to a pair of young men who seemed to appear and disappear in seconds. Breanne looked over at the Sheriff and Claudia with a questioning look but the Sheriff just shook his head. Royce didn’t seem to be on edge like his parents but Stiles could tell he also seemed a little jittery while carrying a rather old looking box. Stiles continued to stand as Royce walked up to him and only kissed his right cheek while Stiles kissed Royce’s right cheek. Royce then started to speak.  
“I present to Stiles Stilinski, my friend, this gift from me. During World War II, my maternal grandfather was a pilot for the Allies and had the most successful operations of any pilot from the United States. He only crashed his plane once, in a small village near the Białowieża Forest. It was here that he rescued a small family from an attack by a gruesome demon from Germany, though at the time he did not know what it was. He was able to save the man, the woman, and the two small children, before running back and discovering an elderly woman whom the demon had attacked earlier. My grandfather tried desperately to save the woman but her wounds were too great. The elderly woman was very grateful to the man who was able to save her family when she could not and in her dying moments, gave him her most precious possession for saving that which was more valuable than gold. It was a pine box with strange letters carved into it. The woman told my grandfather to not open the box until he was home safe. With her last breath, she whispered something to the box. My grandfather was able to return home safely and keep the box safe. When my mother gave birth to me , he gifted the box to her we kept it safe up until today and now I gift this box to you. Stiles Stilinski, will you accept my gift?”  
“Yes.” Stiles was a bit confused while Royce had told that story. It seemed a bit too much for an old box. Royce handed the box to Stiles and Stiles accepted it and felt something inside of the box pulse. His mother must of felt it too for she moved her unseeing eyes towards the box and put a hand to her mouth is surprise. Tears started to well up in the corner of her eyes. Stiles looked between his mother and his friend who simply smiled to him and walked back over to his parents who looked expectantly at him. Stiles slowly removed the top of the old pine box to find a book. A rather old book that smelled of flowers and old ink. Stiles put his hand on the front cover and he heard what he instinctively knew he should hear; singing. Stiles, overwhelmed by the power the book he held, managed to ask;  
“What is it?” it wasn’t Royce who answered but his mother with tears running down her face.  
“It’s a Grimoire Stiles. That’s a real grimoire.” The Colburns just beamed.

The rest of the Circle waited for Claudia to calm down after she started to cry and hugging Breanne and Sam and Royce and thanking them over and over again. Stiles didn’t understand but he felt like he owed his friend a great debt. After about five minutes, Claudia managed to collect herself and the rest of the Circle presented their gifts. It was getting close to 9:00 pm, when the moon was reaching its zenith and all the guests had cake and were now talking about the presents when the drums started. They weren’t the drums from the band of the drumming of tables, but a more primal drumming, a drumming that shook you to your bones. It was coming from the back side of the main hall. The double doors leading to a back room that no one noticed opened. The Sheriff stood up and with a magnified voice “Everyone who has an invitation, please make an orderly line. Have your invitations out and ready to be checked.”  
The Casters and Warders started to get out pieces of paper and moved towards the back doors in a very orderly fashion. This was no time to start acting like a fool and panicking.  
Scott looked over at his friends,  
“What’s going on and what’s with that drumming?” Stiles turned to his best bro with a rather unStiles like seriousness on his face.  
“That, Bro, is why we’re here tonight.”


	17. Of Oaths and Crowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The coronation of the new Governor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've reached over 5,000 views. Thank you everyone. Special thanks to the lovely and wonderful people who answered my question about flowers for Stiles.  
> As always, comments are appreciated and kudos are great.

Joyful had always liked birthday parties. The idea of people coming together to celebrate someone being alive for another whole year always seemed special to her. It wasn’t the present or the cake (though cake was something she did enjoy and made sure she brought that idea to her people), it was the sense of community and togetherness that birthdays brought. Even if it was just one person, it was one more person that remembered and congratulated you on living. She knew that her reasoning sounded silly, but when you’ve been around as long as she had, and seen all the things that she had seen, you tend to focus on the good things that life could bring. Birthday parties were simply another way of celebrating a life. The fact that her successor always made sure to invite not only her, but the entire tribe to his birthday party every year since he was ten only cemented her belief that she had made the right choice. He had an open heart and wanted to share it with others. That was a trait that few of their kind still possessed, particularly after what happened with the skinchangers. It gave her hope that one so young was willing to open his heart to those who needed it. She knew better than most that the most powerful healing was done not with magic, but with the simply kindness one experiences from others. Joyful had been lost in thought when one of her retinue asked her a question.  
“What, I’m sorry child, what was it you asked?” The child, a tall, lanky man in this early 40’s, knew that Joyful hadn’t been paying attention, sighed and asked his question again.  
“ Mother, are you sure about your decision to go through with this tonight? Your chosen successor is only a child. Would it not be better to select from one of the People?”  
Joyful stared up at the man , for he was a head taller than her , and gave him a flat and very motherly glare.  
“Child, I am not only certain tonight, but have been certain every night these last six years since the decision was made. It is not for you to question what the Great Spirits say, nor is it your place to judge the boy simply because you do not know him. It is because he is a boy that believe the decision was correct.”  
“But how can that be?”  
“Because he is too young to know hate, Child. He is old enough to understand why the events of the past occurred, but young enough to help change the future. As for why one of the People were not chosen, Child, how many of the young ones of the People possess the gifts of the Great Mother? HMMM? I will tell you, too few. Too few of the People can even feel the presence of the Mother or Father anymore. They’re all too busy trying to fight the gifts of their ancestors. You did too until your father practically dragged you to me to teach you.” Joyful sighed a tired sigh. “Child, look around you.” She motions to the group that had followed Joyful on foot, a bakers dozen of girls and half a dozen boys, all surrounded by strong and proud looking warriors. “These are all that can use the gifts in all of the lands of our People. None of the People posses the power necessary to protect the lands from the hate that was born. The boy does. He and his Circle have the power to protect our future as I and my Circle protected our past.”  
A large bearish man walked over to Joyful and announced in a very respectful voice,  
“Mother, we approach the hall of stars.”  
That seemed to brighten Joyful up a bit.  
“Thank you, Digger, please announce our presence.” Each of the warriors pulled out a small ceremonial drum and began to beat in time. A primal sound that shook you to your bones.

Peter stood outside of the hall stiffing the air ever so slightly. To anyone else, it would seem that he had allergies, but in fact was waiting for the guest of honor to arrive. It was his privilege to escort her to the where Stiles was waiting for her. He had heard the drums beginning to beat long before they were heard inside the hall. Out of the North side of the woods, the smell of the wild, of soil and rain and sunlight. Of the wind running through your hair and the feeling of chasing after animals. She had arrived. A group of Native Americans came out of the woods on foot shortly afterwards with Joyful at the front. The ball of light that lit up the driveway started to go dim as the procession approached the front of the hall. Near the steps, Peter walked down to meet them.  
“Greeting and salutations to the Sky of the West.” Peter spoke with a formal bow. Joyful gave Peter a fond smile and a pat on the cheek while some of the warriors started to tense up. They weren’t sure what was about to happen and were willing to kill to protect Joyful. Joyful simply ignored them.  
“Greeting wolf brother , I see Claudia managed to get you into a monkey suit as well. That’s only to be expected, no one really argues with that woman. She makes a bear look timid.”  
She took the elbow that Peter had offered her as he straightened up as the procession, minus the warriors except one, were led up the stairs. “Tell me, how is that sister of yours. Still a pain in the butt?”  
“That depends on which sister and which day of the week it is. They take turns.” Joyful gave him a smile that said she knew only too well what that was like. The group moved through the front hall where the younger Indians were told that they could eat something until the party was ready for their arrival. They attacked the buffet like wolves after a wounded moose. Joyful rolled her eyes at the lack of manners.  
“I do have some news that you might like.” Joyful’s eye brightened at the thought of juicy gossip.  
“What kind of news wolf brother?”  
“It appears your nephew is going to bond a warder tonight.” Joyful gapped up at Peter who simply nodded. The wolf had only a few seconds before the ear piercing (at least for him) squee came out of the woman.  
“Tell me all. Is it the boy I saw? What does his father say? Will he be coming to us? This is exciting, the first member of our family to bond since Sarah.”  
“They haven’t taken the oaths yet and it appears that he is joining the Sgiathadair on Monday.”  
“Oh” Joyful’s eyes dulled then brighten up again ten fold “Oh, what an excellent idea. That will certainly add to the evening won’t it. Monday hmm? That won’t give us much time to prepare but I’m certain Christopher won’t mind us taking him first. I’ll make sure to speak with him and Samuel tonight. This is very exciting.”  
After a few moments later, a pathway of candle light appeared. The young Indians lined up behind Joyful and Peter and walked towards the back of the hall.

“Outside? The coronation is outside? We needed tickets to go outside?”  
“Shush Erica, before they kick us out.”  
Somehow, probably because she’s amazing, Lydia had managed to get tickets for Boyd and Erica as well as Jackson. The back doors lead to a rather large clearing surrounded by Rowen trees. These were not Black Mountain Ash trees, but white rowan, a tree of healing and protection and amplified magic instead of trapping it. In the center of the clearing stood three people. Two women and one man. Each appeared to be holding what looked to be a wreath of some sort.  
“Kick us out? Of what? We’re already outside?” Lydia was glaring at Erica and was about to tell her off when a trail of firelight made a path to the center of the clearing. A fairly tall and lean woman with white silver hair down to her waist and braided in intricate patterns walked right past the group. What was peculiar about the woman was that the hair stated that she was old but her face, a deep brown , was a youthful as any girl’s there with eyes that shone like polished onyx. She was followed by a rather handsome man, shirtless with war paint in tribal designs. Both wore simple clothes of buckskin and nothing more. No feathers, no beads, no turquoise. The woman and man stopped in the center of the clearing where the other three were. Much to Erica’s surprise, all of the Casters had started to bow and curtsy. Not simply or short bows either. Grand and deep bows like one would give a queen. Even the warders and deputies bowed to the woman. Cynthia, who was on Erica’s other side, elbowed her and motioned her to curtsy as well. Erica was in a cocktail dress, not the long flowing gowns the other women were wearing but if that girl in the silver could do it, so could she. Erica whispered to Cynthia. “So why are we doing this?”  
“To show our respect?”  
“To whom exactly?”  
“Her.” Cynthia used her head to point to the woman who walked past her.  
‘Right, and who is she?”  
The name that rung around the clearing answered Erica’s question before Cynthia could.  
“Greetings and salutations Joyful Skydancer, Sky of the West, Daughter and Teacher of the Great Mother and Sky Father, Governor of the West Coast.”

Joyful greeted the other Governors with kisses on the cheeks. Evangeline Grym, The long time Governor of the Rocky Mountain Territory (The girl had been doing this since the proclamation was made back in 1944) Red Dugger, then young man who had been selected as the Great Plains Governor only a decade before, and Cordelia Good, The newly appointed Supreme of the Salem Witches and the Governor of the East Coast as well (Poor girl, As if being a supreme wasn’t hard enough, that idiot Chauncy had to freeze to death while skinny dipping in the Atlantic).  
“Are we all ready?” Evangeline asked the others. Red and Cordelia nodded their heads. “Alrighty then, Joyful, if you will.”  
“Gladly.” Joyful held up her hands above her head and chanted in her native tongue “Sister Moon, on this night, give us your light, give us your power, and your peace so that we may bless the one who will serve in your name.” and like magic, A full moon appeared in the sky directly over the clearing. With the light of the moon, the white rowan started to glow faintly. The hum of magic could be heard throughout by all. Joyful turned towards the western most edge of the clearing and spoke “Bronisław Stilinski, come forth as receive your destiny.”  
Stiles slowly walked out to the center of the clearing. His head held up high and eyes forward. While it appeared he was calm and confident, he was shaking like a leaf on the inside. This was it. The moment he had been waiting for since he was ten years old. The moment that would define the rest of his life. So of course, he almost trips and falls into somebody. Thankfully that someone was Red who catches him before he falls. Joyful walks up to him, hugs and him whispers in his ear  
“Don’t be nervous dear. This is the easy part. The real challenge starts afterwards.” Stiles gulps. “Now take off your clothes and kneel in the middle directly underneath the moon.”  
“Strip? All the way? But there are girls present.”  
“Of course all the way, and I would not worry, they won’t see much. Now hurry up.”  
Stiles quickly removes all of his clothes and only has a problem taking off the pants since he forgot to take off his shoes first. he hands them to Cordelia who folds them nicely and sets them to the side. Stiles kneels on one knee in the center of the clearing directly underneath the moon. Joyful begins to speak in a sober tone, the air filling with the hum of magic.  
“I, Joyful Skydancer, Governor of the West Coast, ask those who have been given the privilege and duty to protect and defend to come forward and ask this Spark, Bronisław Stilinski, The Oaths.”  
Evangeline was the first to come up. She was a tall woman, taller than Stiles with light blue eyes, the color of a summer sky, with curly brown hair that went past her shoulder. In her hand was a ring of blue hyacinth. She held it above Stiles head as one would present a laurel to a champion.  
“With this ring upon your head, I ask that you always remain faithful and dependable to your friends, your family, your people, your territory and most importantly, your heart. As governor, you are the strength of your territory and your people and it is with a faithful and dependable heart that you lead them. Do you, Bronisław, swear to uphold this virtue.”  
“I Do.”  
The ring of flowers were placed upon his head. Next Red stood before Stiles. He was a young man, In his late 20’s with a head of red hair and a short read beard and mustache. His eyes were a striking amber colored eyes. In his hand was a wreath of elderflower. As Evangeline did before him, he stood before Stiles with the wreath over his head.  
“With this ring, I ask that you always be zealous and compassionate in your workings. That you always try to be zealous in your duties to find and retain peace and that you live , lead, and love with an open and compassionate heart. As Governor, you are the will of your people and it is with these traits that you give them the will to continue even when times are hard. Do you, Bronisław, swear to uphold these virtues.”  
“I Do.”  
the ring was placed upon his head and intertwined with the first ring. Finally, Cordelia stood before him with a wreath of white roses. As the other two did before her, she held up her wreath above Stiles head and spoke.  
“With this ring upon your head, I ask that you always have a pure and sincere heart. That you live to the best of your ability and lead with the best of your ability. You never forget who you are and what it means to be Governor. May those that are important to you always be in your heart and may that help you in times of trouble. As Governor, you are the heart of your people and you give them the love that they will always need, even when they do not want it. Do you, Bronisław, swear to uphold these virtues.”  
‘I Do.”  
The final ring was placed upon Stiles head and it intertwined with the other two. Joyful finally stood before Stiles and placed her hands on his head.  
“Bronisław, Do you swear to uphold your oaths for the betterment of humanity, to maintain peace between the natural and supernatural, and that you always use your magic to become a light in the dark places of the world.”  
“I Do.”  
“Then I, Joyful Skydancer, ask you to rise and with this crown upon your head, receive the title and responsibilities of the Governor of the West Coast.”  
Stiles stood up and one his head was a silver crown formed from the wreaths of the three flowers.  
“Casters of Beacon Hills, I present to you and you kin, your new Governor, Bronisław (Stiles) The Moon of the West.” Stiles turned around to deafening applause.

After a very loud few minutes of applause and Stiles was able to get his clothes back on, he raised his hand for silence.  
“As my first official act as Governor, I would like Royce Colburn and Victor Chase to come forth.” The two boys, holding hands, walked briskly to meet Stiles in the center of the clearing. Royce stood next to Stiles and Chase kneeled on one knee in front of Royce as Stiles had done earlier. “Tonight, this Caster and Warder shall as one in bonding from now till death do they part. Royce, you have my blessing to bond Chase.”  
Royce placed one hand on Chase’s head and the other on his shoulder which chase grabbed. Stiles then placed one hand on top of Royce’s on top of Chase’s head and the other of Chase’s shoulder. A few moments passed when a bright cobalt light erupted from Royce and swallowed Chase and Stiles. The rowan trees glowed a brilliant blue and seemed to echo the power radiating from the center. Margo turned whispered to Jackson and Lydia,  
“Told you you’d see it when they actually bonded.”  
The light faded a few seconds later and the feeling something profound had happened filled the crowd as both Casters removed their hands from Chase and Chase stood up, the bond completed.


	18. First day on the job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plot actually starts now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for the views and kudos. The actual plot is starting up and any ideas of what you'd like to see are welcome.  
> Can anybody guess what the cat like creatures are?

11:30 pm - South Oregon

In the deep quiet of the night, in the darkest part of the forest where no person dares to travel, two shadows blur through the trees. Under any normal circumstances, no living things would have detected these shadows, but tonight wasn’t an ordinary night, and these weren’t ordinary shadows as shadows don’t usually complain at loud.  
“All I’m saying is that it would have been nice to at least have gotten an invitation to the party.” a husky male voice asked.  
“And pray tell, how would he have addresses the letters? Hmmm?” An annoyed British female voice responded.  
“Well, we could have petitioned him for a set of invitations. It’s not everyday that a new Governor is crowned. We have every right to be there as any of those Casters. We are essential to the protection of this territory just as much as any witch.”  
“You forget two rather important things Yvan.”  
“What?”  
“1. we aren’t Casters and 2. He doesn’t know we exist you bloody twat. Now shut up and keep your eyes open and do the job you’re so proud of.”  
A sniff came from the shadow called Yvan but it continued to blur through the trees and moved down to the undergrowth. The shadows moved quickly and quietly through the forest , no longer making a sound now that the argument was over (for now at least). No one would have known the shadows moved through the forest except for the chilly feeling that came from them passing over sleeping animals. No other presence was felt from the two. after about 20 minutes of what would be a patrol, one of the shadows stopped. The other didn’t notice until it could feel the other above it.  
“Cecil? Cecil? Where are you?”  
“Shhh. Over here. Come quickly.”  
The shadow called Yvan moved over to the shadow called Cecil where it was next to an old rock, and old rock with very large markings on it.  
“What are we looking at?”  
“I have no idea, I’ve never seen markings like this before, but they look like claw marks.”  
“But what could make claw marks like that? None of the creatures that live here can make marks in solid stone, particularly a Standing Stone.”  
“I wonder..”  
A loud beastly roar pierced the silence followed by a high pitched scream. The two shadows flew through the underbrush in the direction of the roar as quickly as they could. Around trees, rocks, and soil bearing the same marks until they arrived at a clearing surrounded by a ring of fire. The two shadows stopped before the ring and witnessed the horror before them. Two large cat like creature was in the center protecting a litter of smaller cat like creatures from the men and women surrounding them. The people were carrying guns and sticks. Red sparks were spraying from some of the sticks towards the creatures causing them to back away from a woman holding a cage. One of the small cat like creatures was inside of it crying for help. The two shadows watched in horror as a man in a baseball cap edged towards the creatures with a shiny chain with a loop in one end. He started moving it like a lasso and tried to catch one of the smaller creatures. The largest of the creatures got in the way and it’s head as catch instead of the little one. With a furious shout, the man pulled the chain only for the cat creature to roar and bat the man with a razor sharp claw. The man hit the ground, gutted and dead. Three other humans lay dead around the ring. One other gutted, one missing it’s head and the last with a leg bitten off.  
“Those bastards are poachers. How did they get past the Standing Stones?”  
“I have no idea but since they broke the circle first, we are going to teach them a lesson. Yvan, are you hungry by any chance.” Shadow Cecil asked in a too casual voice.  
The shadow called Yvan gave a dark chuckle “Why yes Cecil , I’m famished.”  
The two shadows vaulted over the ring of fire and flew towards the remaining poachers.  
The woman with the cage starred at the other large creatures with wicked mirth and fascination. In all her wildest dreams, she never imagined being face to face with myths. A twisted smile crept over her lips as another man picked up the chain still around the beasts head. He starting pulling and a pained sound escaped the beast. Seconds later, the man was enveloped by a black cloud of smoke. The screamed that was far worse than any of the others that died at the hand of the beast. Seconds later the smoke disappeared and the man lay dead, pale white, a look of absolute terror on his face. Standing above him, a young woman, no older than 15 wearing a black flapper dress licking her lips. She looked up at the woman this the cage with a look of cold fury on an otherwise porcelain face. The woman looked between the girl and the dead man at her feet. A series of screams came from other people, some carrying guns, other sticks as another black cloud engulfed them. A tall, hispanic looking man wearing an all black suit stood up from a group of dead bodies. They both looked at the woman and the few remaining poachers. They all looked horrified at their dead comrades.  
“Who…”  
“I suggest we leave. Quickly” The woman with the cage said to the last few remaining turning around and jumping over the fire. The last few did the same before the man or girl could do anything. The man snarled and swore.  
“Damn it, if we were faster, we could have gotten them all.”  
“Leave it be Yvan, we have to take care of things here first.” Cecil walked over to the beasts, the largest still had the shiny chain around it’s neck.  
“You know for poachers, they were pretty stupid.” Ycan turned to Cecil with surprise on his face.  
“Stupid? They managed to catch on of the cubs and get away. How is that stupid?”  
“Because they were not prepared. This chain isn’t pure silver, it’s fake silver. Probably some sort of blend with other metals to make it stronger.”  
“How can you tell?” Cecil ever so gently removed the chain from the beasts’ neck, making soft and gently sounds to keep it from attacking her. It wouldn’t have killed her, but she didn’t want it attacking her and she accidentally killing it. “Because if it was real silver, I wouldn’t be able to get it off. I think I know how they managed to get past the Standing Stones.”  
Cecil moved over to one of the bodies that Yvan had attacked. It was a youngish man with long blond hair, a hippie was the word that came to mind. The body rose into the air with a lift of a finger and flipped upside down. Another flick and the clothes dissolved. Around the man’s arms were intricate symbols tattooed in greens and browns. Yvan walked over to the man and grimaced.  
“Druids.”  
“Not real ones, but yes. Someone has been teaching newts druid arts and convinced them to go beyond the Standing Stones.”  
“So what do we do? Go after the remaining ones? I still have their taste, I’m sure I can track them.” Cecil shook her head.  
“If this is as bad as I think it is, we’re going to need reinforcements. The herds will be here soon and I don’t want a repeat of this. While this was bad, if another poacher comes when the herds are here, things will be a lot worse.”  
“So we call him?”  
“We call him.”

12:00 am - California  
(1812 overture plays)  
“Hello, Sheriff Stilinski here.” John answers in a very groggy tone having been woken up by his cell.  
“Sheriff, this is Cecil Joust. We have a problem.” The Sheriff was no longer asleep after Cecil got off the phone.

3:00 am -Hale Residence  
Derek was having some very good dreams. The dance he had with Stiles had been one of the best memories he could remember. In his dreams, Stiles and he were dancing as they did at the party, only it was just them, in an open field with the full moon up above. Soon, there were no clothes and the dream got very steamy from there. Derek was a little too old to be having wet dreams but it had been a while since he had any form of release. Right when it was about to get to the good part, a song could be heard in the background. It wasn’t a romantic song but very familiar. Derek started to recognize the beat, it was Who Let the Dogs Out.  
“What the hell”  
“Derek answer your goddam phone before I come in there and break it!”  
Derek woke up to the shouts from Laura’s room next door. She was right, his cell phone was going off. He trudged over to where it was and picked it up.  
“Lo”  
“Ah good, you’re awake. Listen you need to come down to the Sheriff’s house and quickly.”  
“Who is this?”  
“It’s Theo, numbnuts. Now get into gear Mr. Hale. You’ve got an emergency.”  
An emergency? did that mean someone was in trouble? The Sheriff’s house, why there? Where was there? suddenly an address appeared on the screen.  
“Here’s his address. Be quick, as quick as you can be. Don’t worry about police.”  
and with that, Theo hung up. Still confused over what was going on, Derek got dressed in a simple sleeveless shirt and a pair of jeans and his leather jacket. Derek decided that he was going to run as the car would probably wake up the rest of the house. It turned out that the Sheriff’s house wasn’t that far away. About 2 miles away, a simple jog really. So with the address in mind, Derek set off.

Derek had an idea in his head what the house would look like. Probably a nice two story home in the suburbs like you see on those horrible shows Nancy liked to watch. A picket fence, two cars, maybe a tree in the front with a tire swing. What he got blew all that away. Derek stood in front of what could only be called a small palace. There was a giant gate and beyond that was a garden that made the hanging gardens of Babylon look pale in comparison. Derek was too shocked to notice the cars that were lining up the driveway. A milling mass of anxious and determined looking men and women were gathered around a rather large porch. Without him noticing , the gate opened and actually seemed to push him inside. After a few choice words at the offending gate , Derek jogged over to the milling crowd hoping to find Theo there. Who he found was the man from the party who was dancing with the woman in silver.  
“Ah, Derek glad you could make it. Sorry about having Theo call you. She didn’t give me your number yet.” the man patted Derek on the back and shook his hand. Derek just stared at the man with a mix of confusion and sleep on his face.  
“You look like you need a pick-me-up. Parrish, bring over that thermos will you.” The man yelled at a younger man who looked like he was star struck carrying a thermos. The younger man came quickly, way too quickly for 3:15 in the morning.  
“Did you need something Sheriff Sir?” Ah, this man was the Sheriff. Things were starting to make sense now. How does a sheriff afford a place like this? Why did the younger guy put so much emphasis on the word like it was a title?  
“Yes Parrish, the thermos.” The sheriff sounded tired, like a high school teacher dealing with oblivious kids tired.  
“Thermos sir?”  
“Yes Jordan, the cylinder in your hand.” A brisk female voice came from the porch.  
The man called Jordan looked down at his hands, blushed furiously, and handed the thermos to the sheriff and then scampered (actually scampered, I thought only rabbits did that) away.  
“I swear, the academy needs to do a better job filtering out their graduates before they send them to work. Ah well, here you go son, drink this and you’ll feel better. A whole 10 hours of sleep better.” The Sheriff poured out a milk like substance that smelled like marshmallows in the lid of the thermos and handed it to Derek. “Make you drink it slowly or else you’ll konk out on me in an hour.” Nodding his head, Derek took a small sip and was hit by what could only be called the motherload of all caffeine rushes. Derek felt as if he had a good 12 hours of sleep. He must have noticeably brightened up since he sheriff only chuckled at him. “Powerful, isn’t it. They use this in Poland to keep from freezing during the winters. My wife makes it smell better since the real stuff has a 50% chance of killing you with the smell. Anyways, now that you're here, we can begin.” The sheriff walked over to a truck and stood up in the back with the crowd cutting off.  
“Alright everybody, I know it’s god awful early but this is important. I received a call three hours ago from Oregon detailing what can only be described as a heinous breach of security. Poachers managed to get inside the Standing Stones.” Gasps and murmurs flowed through the crowd, Many of the people started to smell extremely angry. “They managed to be stopped but not before doing serious damage to the heart as well as making off with something.” Angry hisses came from several people standing near Derek and the smell of fury started to build. “I know that you know that this needs to be fixed and quickly and efficiently as possible as the herds will be here by the end of the week and we do not want to endanger them. Now, the ones standing here are the best of the best and know how to keep a secret. Nothing of what we are about to do must be known by the general public.” A great deal of nodding accompanied that statement, Derek’s being one of them. He didn’t understand half of what was going on but he could tell that it was a matter of a territory being trespassed on. That he understand quite well and it pissed him off. Off to the right, a voice asked out,  
“How are we going to find them Sir?”  
“I’m so glad you asked that, Derek, Son, could you come over here.” It was more of a command than a request and Derek complied. “This ladies and gents is Derek Hale. He is a werewolf and out new Deputy.” Murmurs of acceptance and understanding passed through the crowd. Most of these people grew up in Beacon Hills and were familiar with the Hales. Derek looked up at the sheriff with shock on his face. This wasn’t a sheriff, this was The Sheriff. John Stilinski, the most powerful non-caster on the West Coast. “Derek here is going to be our eyes and ears inside of the Standing Stones while the rest of us try to figure out who these people are and how to stop them. As always, try to bring the culprits in alive but as these are poachers, no punishment will be given if they aren’t alive when you bring them in.” Fierce nods of understanding came from the Deputies. “Now saddle up everybody. We’ve got a ways to go.” And with that, the Deputies started moving towards cars. Derek was pulled along by a Black woman towards the car the Sheriff had gotten into.  
“You’re riding with us so that we can give you the low down on what’s happening and what we need you for.”

Up in his room, Stiles and Allison watched as the Deputies started to leave, the man of Stiles dreams being one of them. The small glass of water that he had used to eavesdrop on the conservation still in his hands.  
“Oh dad, what are you going to make Derek do?”


	19. Things get interesting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience. This would have been up yesterday but the internet in the new apartment wasn't turned on until today

“Prosić” (Please)  
“Nie” (No)  
“Prosić”  
“Nie”  
“Bardzo proszę” (Pretty Please)  
“Nie”  
Stiles followed his mother around the house continually asking her what is was that his father was doing. She, of course, refused to tell him anything.  
“Dlaczego nie?” (why not)  
“Bo to nie twoja sprawa.” (Because it's none of your business)  
This argument had been going on since about 6:00 am when Claudia awoke to find her son waiting at the kitchen table with sausage, eggs, gravy, and potatoes all ready for her with her favorite tea. If she could see, she would have seen the oh-so-innocent smile on his face. The fact that her son had made her breakfast was proof enough in itself that something was up , he had done something bad, or he wanted something from her. Turns out it was all three. Never one to turn down food, she was a Caster after all, she and her son ate a very hearty breakfast. Claudia knew she would need the energy for whatever Stiles had planned for the morning.  
“To jest moja sprawa, to moja odpowiedzialność.” (It is my business, it's my responsibility)  
“Nie, to jest odpowiedzialność twojego ojca.” (No, it is your father’s responsibility)  
His plan was to apparently find out why his father was going up north. Apparently, Stiles had gotten into his head that eavesdropping on his father was acceptable. She was going to properly berate him for that, and the fact that he was planning on keeping that little tidbit a secret from her. Stiles had of course sounded offended that he would do such a thing,  
thankfully Allison had brought down the cup Stiles had use to listen in on his father to clean, the traces of Stiles’s magic all over it. Stiles confessed (confessed, hah) that he simply wanted to know why all the high ranking deputies had been called so early in the morning (Because it wasn’t the junk food that woke him up, no it was the cars driving into the driveway at 3:00 am). When Claudia refused to tell him anything , he started to beg, and plead, and beg some more. Allison, who was helping herself to the lovely breakfast that Stiles made and he glared at her and whispered she was a traitor, said that he was beginning to sound annoying, so Stiles promptly started begging in Polish. Claudia sometimes regrets letting John convincing her to teach their son her mother tongue. Life would be so much easier if they could only argue in one language.  
“Syn, przestań błagać. Brzmisz jak rzeka,” (Son, stop begging, you sound like a river) (rivers babble) “I mówić w języku angielskim. (and speak in English).  
“dobrze. But mom, Dad doesn’t just leave in the middle of the night for no reason. It must be important. I’m the Governor now, I need to do my duty and protect my territory.”  
“Your father left in the middle of the night because that is his responsibility. What he does has nothing to do with you or with your position as Governor, you know that. You’ve known that for years.”  
“ciotka Claudia, I think this has less to do with Uncle John and more to do with Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome.” Allison interjected between a mouthful of biscuits. Stiles visibly reddened and started to glare and sputter. He greatly resembled the tea kettle John’s mother gave Claudia as a wedding present. That also seemed to pique Claudia’s interest a bit.  
“And who Stiles, is Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome? Is this someone your father and I should know about?”  
“He’s nobody special, just someone I met at my party.”  
“The nobody that you danced with for half the night and keep looking for during your presents.” Stiles gawked and make choking sounds at Allison.  
“I..you...he...we…” Allison just smiled and continued to eat. Claudia gave her son a rather bemused look.  
“Well look at the time, I should really get ready for school.” And with that, Stiles teleported to his room.  
“Stiles, no teleporting in the house!” A loud thump and the sound of something crashing follow by a weak “I’m okay”.  
“Allison, please make sure my son hasn’t done any permanent damage to the bathroom.”  
“Umm, ciotka Claudia?” Claudia turned to the sound of Allison’s voice still behind her , surprised to still find her there.  
“Yes?”  
“I know you didn’t tell Stiles what was going on because he would probably do something reckless like follow Uncle John, but there really shouldn’t have been a reason for all of those particular deputies to be here if it wasn’t something extremely urgent.” Claudia sighed to herself, leave it so Christopher to teach his daughter the name, rank and identity of every Deputy in Beacon Hills. “So what is happening in Oregon? I noticed that dad wasn’t here either. What could be so urgent that the Warder General and the Sheriff both had to leave town?”  
“First off, your father isn’t with John, he’s at the reservation talking to Night Chaser. He has to plan Victor’s new training as being bonded to Royce. But that’s neither here nor there.” Claudia’s voice grew very solemn with her next words “Allison, you must swear not to say a word to Stiles.” The girl thought for a few secrets before making responding.  
“It’s about Them, isn’t it?”  
“Yes, and to be honest, that's all I really know. John doesn’t tell anyone about his duties of Sheriff unless he absolutely must. Even I don’t know the full extent of what he does. All I know is this; someone of something has endangered the Standing Stones.”  
If Claudia could see, she would have seen Allison turn as white as winter snow.

(Side of the road diner)  
Derek was amazed at the amount of food the woman in front of him could eat. All of the deputies and the Sheriff were eating at a small side of the road diner for breakfast. It was a simple place like one of the ones that was popular in the 1950s. The entire place was filled to the brim with deputies, none of them in uniform but the ever present scent of angry and gunpowder would have been enough to cause Derek’s wolf to whimper in agitation. It would have been if the overwhelming smell of pancakes, hashbrowns, eggs, and bacon filling up his and beast in front of him table. While beast isn’t a nice word to call a lady, it was the only word that could come to Derek’s mind as he watched her eat plate after plate of food. He himself only ate about three plates of breakfast meat while she was currently on plate seven of pancakes and eggs. Agent Morell (Please call me Marin) had offered him some after she found him staring at her which he politely declined. She might have tried to bite him if he had accepted. And I thought wolves were bad at the full moon. My family has nothing on his woman. After about another five minutes, Marin but down her fork and picked up her juice and took tiny sips, as if she was savory the flavor. She turned to Derek with a small smile.  
“So Mr. Hale, or may I call you Derek?”  
‘Derek is fine.”  
“Derek, it’s time that I fill you in on what is going on and why you are so important to the success of his mission.”  
Finally some answers  
“Alright, I’m ready.”  
“Excellent. What do you know about horses?”  
Derek gave Marin a wide eyed look. The kind of look you give someone who just asked you if you would please job off this building for me, it’s for science.  
“Horses.”  
“Horses.”  
“Well, let me think. I know all about kelpies and pookas. They drown their victims in water after disguising themselves as beautiful white horses. I know about pegasi and the ever popular unicorns. They’re rare and have very powerful magic.” Derek always had good grades in school but really shined during his mythology classes. He was the teacher’s best student and even went to several conferences as a high school student about magical zoology and the importance of myths in modern magic. Human society had history classes to learn about their pasts, the supernatural had myths.  
“And are rude to boot.”  
“I also know quite a bit about regular horses too. My uncle’s family owns a ranch in Idaho and we visited every summer.” Derek had several Rodeo trophies to prove his horsemanship as well.  
“That great but it’s the supernatural kind we’re talking out. Unlike the carnivorous horses that most people are aware of, the ones I’m talking about are very rare and very good.”  
“Alright and?”  
“And they are in danger. The herds of these horses spend the spring and summer months in Canada and the Northwest. They take shelter in what are called Standing Stones.”  
“Marin, I’m a Hale. I know what Standing Stones are and I know why they are important. What I want to know is why I’m so important to these horses.”  
The woman grinned. Grinned. She was being vague and she had the nerve to grin.  
“The reason Derek is because this particular standing Standing Stones belong to the Black Forest.”  
Derek sat there as calm and unperturbed as a cucumber, all his years of learning not to show his emotions paying off. On the inside, he was freaking out. The Black Forest was , well , black. Not in terms of being an evil place, but in terms of being dangerous. There was no other forest in all of the Western hemisphere that was filled with more vicious creatures than that. It was for that reason alone that humans of any kind of species could not pass through the Standing Stones.  
“Let me guess, I’m important because I can pass through the Stones and not get eaten.”  
“Bingo, and the fact Stiles seems to have a massive crush on you.”  
“What, what does that have to do with anything.”  
“Well, someone is going to have to watch him when he comes chasing after you.”

(BHCA)  
Stiles was excited to hear about his friends first day at school. This morning had been orientation for the new students who would be attending the academy and Danny, Scott, and Lydia had been in the front row. Stiles didn’t remember what his freshman year orientation was like but he did remember the feeling of awe and excitement to be learning the magic he only heard of in stories his mother told. At his usual table in the cafeteria , he was surprised to find Allison and Chase there before anyone else. Chase looked a bit haggard but Allison appeared to be drilling him for information.  
“This is new, you guys aren’t usually this early.”  
“Hey Stiles, umm, have you seen Royce yet?”  
“Not since 2nd period, why? Is everything okay?”  
“Okay? Everything is more than okay” Allison seemed overly excited about something which was strange for her because she rarely got excited visibly. “Only someone is refusing to talk about what an amazing opportunity that they had this morning.”  
“Really, did you have sex with Royce?”  
The look that Chase gave Stiles would have made his mother proud. Is was a combination of a death glare and a protectiveness that only a warder could have. It was at that time, Royce decided to show up.  
“Not yet and not from lack of interest. Mom wants grandkids but dad wants doesn’t want me pregnant before I graduate university. I did inform him that we would be as safe as possible and that I have no interest of changing yet but dad demands that I have a ring on my finger and Chase taking our name before sex.”  
“Oh, so by the end of the school year then.”  
“Will you two please stop.” Chase asked in a pained, as pained as a warder could sound, voice. “Our romantic life has nothing to do with anyone but Royce and I.”  
“Well actually Chase, it does involve Stiles. As Governor, he’s the one who can determine whether or not Royce can go through the change. We already have enough problems in this town with natural pregnancies for men to get pregnant willy nilly.”  
“Thank you Giselle. I’m so glad something that personal and private has to be known to the entire Circle.”  
“Not the whole Circle, Stallion, just Stiles and Giselle.” Royce sat next to Chase and leaned into him and Chase wrapping an arm around him to draw him in closer. “Afterall, Stiles would be Godfather and Giselle would be my midwife.” Stiles and Giselle just beam at Chase who shakes his head, done with this conversation.  
“Enough about that, Chase you still haven’t answered my question? How was training with Night Chaser?”  
“In a word, Hell. Baby,” Chase turns to Royce “Why didn't you warn me your uncle was insane.”  
“Night Chaser isn't insane Stallion. He wants to make sure that my husband is able to protect me and have the stamina to provide for me.”  
“Hell isn’t very descriptive Chase. What did he teach you? What kind of fighting are you learning? What ancient secrets are you learning?”  
“What do you mean by husband?” The group turned around to find a confused looking Scott standing over them with Danny and Lydia sitting down at the table.  
“Scott, bro, come sit next to me and tell me all about your first day at school. Don’t worry about eating quickly, we get a whole hour for lunch.”  
“What did he mean by husband? Whose husband? Who's getting married?” Scott repeated.  
“Victor and Royce.” Allison answers matter-of-factly.  
“You two are getting married? But you’re in high school? Isn’t that illegal?” Danny asks pensively. Royce chuckles and Chase just blushes.  
“We’re not getting married yet.”  
“But you said.”  
“Scott, Danny, Royce is the heir of the Sgiathadair.” Lydia answers, looking over to make sure she pronounced the word correctly. “That means that when they bonded as warder and Caster, it was the same thing as saying that they were engaged to the rest of the organization. Most members of the Sgiathadair are women, like the shield maidens of Scandinavia, who rarely bond warders, but when they do, they marry the warders. It’s how they make sure that the magic survives.”  
“Wow” Scott sounded impressed. For what, only Stiles seemed to know. Suddenly Scott turned to face Stiles with an accusatory stare. Stiles held his hands up like he was surrendering.  
“Bro, what?”  
“Dude, why didn’t you tell me that I had to go to summer school?”   
“Oh umm. I forgot.”  
“You forgot?”  
“Yeah. Sorry, if it makes you feel better, it’s not actually summer school. It’s private lessons with one of the teachers to make sure that you are caught up for next year.”  
“It sounds like the same thing. That means my whole summer is wasted.”  
“Nonsense, Scott, buddy. I’ll be with you the whole time. I won’t let my best bro go through this alone.”  
“He won’t be alone Stiles.” Giselle butted in “He’ll be with me. It appears your friend here has the potential for healing and has been assigned to my father.”  
“You’re father is who?” Scott asked.  
“He’s Alphonse Carson, the towns veterinarian.”


	20. Background is important

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all my readers for the kudos. Comments are always appreciated. I hope you like this chapter.

If anyone had ever said Talia Hale was jumpy, she would deny it till her last breath. She rarely was surprised and almost no one could sneak up on her. Alan Deaton, though, wasn’t just anybody. How he was still able to just pop out of nowhere like that and get the best of her even after all these years was a mystery she would never solve. What he was doing in her house was something she did want answers too. Answers she wanted now.  
“Can’t an old friend drop by and say hello?”  
“Old friends can, Alan, but you are not an old friend. What are you doing here?”  
Deaton looked down at the cup in his hands and he magiced over without her permission and poured a cup of coffee he didn’t ask permission to have and back to Talia like she just asked a rather absurd question. Bastard still acts like he lives here.  
“I’m having coffee Talia, what does it look like?”  
“I looks like, Alan, that you are breaking and entering into a wolves den that you are no longer welcome in. It looks like that you are up to no good, as usual, and it looks like you have something in store for the new Governor.” Deaton looks at her with an innocent look.  
“Don’t you dare. Roman was at the party on Saturday. He saw you there. He followed you all night long. He watched you give the Stilinski boy a gift in front of the entire Circle. I’m surprised you managed to get away without a scratch.”  
“Talia, Talia, Talia. What makes you think that I am up to anything. Isn’t it customary to give gifts at a birthday party. I was merely doing my duty as a Caster and presenting the new Governor a gift that he will need in the future.”  
Talia growled low in her throat and her eyes shone blood red “Do not play the mysterious advisor, Druid. You will answer my questions with straightforward answers or I will finish the job my father started.”  
Deaton gulped at the threat and the memory. The bite mark Leon Hale left on him still burned after all these years and he still didn’t have complete use of his magic. The werewolf toxins made using his magic painful. He didn’t escape the members of the Sgiathadair Sam sent after him. They may not have gotten to do what they wanted but they still did plenty of damage.  
“Very well Talia, I will tell you what I can.” So began Deaton’s explanation of what he was doing in Beacon Hills after all these years gone. He left about about two hours later with Talia on her cell phone.  
“Peter, I need you to come home for dinner tonight.”

(BHCA)  
Stiles winced hard as Danny dropped through the air and hit the sandbags with an audible thud. Scott looked terrified and even Lydia looked a bit nervous at the other side of the gym where all the new students were paired up with a veteran student for what was a sort of a trial by fire literally. August Wheeler, a young trans warlock, had been Danny’s partner for the test. The test, as explained by Ms. Diamond the Caster equivalent of Glass, was to test the ability of the new Casters in offensive and defensive magic. The objective was to gauge what kind of abilities they already had and what needed to be learned. What it really was was a chance for the older students to get the hazing of the new students out of the way. August, who was an expert at gravity and motion magic, had made Danny weightless and while Danny was floating in the air, made him do tricks that would have made the acrobats of Cirque De Soleil proud. When Danny tried to bring himself down using telekinesis, August merely reversed the action. Whatever Danny tried to do, the opposite happened. Down became higher up, left became right, and when Danny got angry and focused on August, he actually slammed the boy into the wall which had the unfortunate effect of releasing the lack of a hold gravity had on him.  
“Excellent work both of you. Daley, make sure Mr. Mahealani is still alive and then the next pair get into position.” Ms. Diamond said in her clipped alto voice.  
An older male student with curly black hair covering his eyes went over and kneeled next to Danny. Pale purple smoke surrounded, lifted and healed Danny. He was deposited back on the floor with a faint crossed eyed look on his face but the no worse for wear. He nodded his thanks to Daley and the other male walked over to wear the advanced healer students were sitting.  
“Next we have Martin Vs. Bryght.” Lydia stepped up to the black line while a curvy black girl stepped up on the other side. She was no taller than Lydia, buxom with powerful arms and legs from dancing. “Cleo, I want a clean fight. Nothing flashy. I need to be able to gauge the girls’ strength and I already know yours.”  
“Got it coach.” Cleo gave the woman a thumbs up. Lydia whispered to Stiles  
“Should I be worried?”  
“Yes and no.”  
“Explain, and quickly.”  
“Cleo specializes in dancing so she needs to be close to you to do any serious harm. She’ll fight fair and won’t pull any cheap tricks. That being said, she won’t pull punches either.”  
“She specializes in dancing? What?”  
“Ladies begin!”  
Lydia started by gathering up all the air she could reach and forming a shield around her. With no idea what to expect, a solid defense seemed like a good beginning move.  
“Damn girl, you’re good. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone gather that much wind and make a shield that quickly. Not even Stiles.”  
“Thank you. I had an excellent teacher.”  
“I bet you did. Now let’s see how much she taught you.” Cleo kicked off her shoes, got on her toes and moved into seventh position, twirled three times and leaped. The orange glow surrounding her did not prepare Lydia for the massive blow she felt when Cleo collided with the shield. It didn’t disperse but Lydia felt the blow in her bones.  
“I warned you she didn’t pull punches.” Lydia just glared at Stiles and tried to keep her distance from the dancer. After about five minutes of Lydia barely avoiding broken bones, she managed to blast Cleo out of position with a series of small bursts of electricity from along the floor. A short but powerful banshee shout managed to concuss the girl as she was regaining her footing.  
“Nice Job Martin. Nice technique. When your enemy has the superior strength, hit them where they can’t defend themselves. In this case, her feet and ears. Carson, come check on Bryght.”  
Giselle ran up to the other girl and with a motion from her hands, caused the unconscious girl to float over to the bleachers.  
“Next is McCall Vs. Rhoads.”

(Bram Stoker)  
Cora often believed that bad shit happened to her because she had been a horrible person in a previous life and this was Karmas way of punishing her for it. Things like being Marcus’s punching bag when he was little or having to be the one to babysit the new wolves during full moons. It’s true that those were unavoidable things with being part of a pack but then there were things like having to be friends with Jackson Whitmore. She wasn’t entirely sure what she had done to be forced with him but it had something with her being a serial killer in her past life or merely the fact that the idiot wolf that bit Jackson was also a bitten wolf and now a giant poisonous lizard wanders the streets of Beacon Hills at night. That would make a great Mystery Science Theater episode yet this was real life, not cheesy black and white television. The most recent event to occur was today’s advance mythology lecture. Usually she liked the class and the discussions about if classical myths or legends had been interpreted differently, what would society be like today. She also found it fascinating how different mythologies had almost the exact same ideas, just different names for them. What she did not find like about the class were the guest speakers, particularly if that guest speaker was her older sister.  
“Now class, I want everyone to pay attention and take notes. What Ms. Hale will be discussing today will be necessary for your upcoming papers on Indigenous practices. Ms. Hale, the floor is all yours.”  
“Thank you. Good morning everyone, My name is Laura Hale and I’m here to talk to you about the migration of the Herds and their importance to the sustainability of the country over the centuries.” Laura wasn’t stupid, not by any means. She had her Masters degree from Columbia on Magical History and Archeology and was working on her Doctorate at Berkeley. The problem was 1) Laura was an Alpha with an Alpha personality. Whenever she speak, she expected people to listen with rapt attention until she was done and 2) As a werewolf, Cora already knew a great deal about the herds. Sure, she had never seen them up close but her family had been running with them since they first came to the country and 3) Laura may be brilliant but she had the horrible tendency to present things in a way that made you want to bash your head against a wall. In short, Laura was monotone.  
“First, can anyone tell me what the Herds are?”  
Erica, who was sitting next to Boyd who was next to Cora was the first to raise her hand. Cora liked Erica and she was a great pack sister but she was also Captain of the Laura Hale Fan Club. Laura smiled and pointed to the blonde.  
“The Herds are the ancient spirits of the wilds that take on the form of animals as they move through North America from Mexico to Canada.”  
“Right, the Herds are the North American spirits of nature that the Natives believed to be the children of the Earth and Sky. Unlike many nature spirits from other cultures, these spirits never took on the form of humans, sometimes of carnivores, but mostly of Herd animals such as deer and bison. Many indigenous groups believe it was these spirits that supplied the power the shamanas used to commune with nature. Whether this is true or not is a secret the tribes keep to themselves. It can also be noted that the Herds appeared as different animals to each different tribe.” Laura brought up a picture of a Indian Shaman woman in meditation surrounded by a circle of deer of various kinds. “The Herds were said to be responsible for teaching the Shamans the proper way to work the Earth with respect and love and in return the Earth would love them. Following this belief, it has also been recorded that the Herds were able to protect the tribes from disasters such as floods, fires, and starvation.” Another picture came up with a hand drawn picture of a herd of bison moving across the a dry prairie with plants growing where they moved. “Over the years, as different types of magic moved into the country, The strength and abilities of the Herds has also changed. They became something more complex, more real, more powerful as different practices brought their beliefs and power to the new land. The Herds started to take on different forms and had greater responsibilities.” Laura brought up a picture of a forest that was heavily logged. A herd of reindeer were moving through the stumps and new samplings were starting to grow from the stumps. “Over the last century, the most important responsibility of the Herds has been the restoration and rebirth of areas that have been destroyed by humans. The Herds move across the entire North American continent fixing the various environmental problems that have arisen with the increase of industry.”  
A freshman in the front raised his hand “Ms. Hale?” Laura looked over to him and nodded.  
“Don’t the Herds ever keep tired? There are a lot of problems and most migratory animals take breaks. Do they Herds just continually move or do they also stop?”  
“Excellent question. That brings me to the next point in the presentation. Yes, the Herds do get tired. The Herds possess a great deal of power but it is not limitless. The Herds find sanctuary in places that normal humans and even Casters aren’t allowed to go into. These places are the Hearts of the Wilds. Every place has one. Forests are the most common as they not only offer protection but a place to restore their power. In order to protect these places, the indigenous people and the Casters that came after created what are called Standing Stones.” A picture of what looked like a mini Stonehenge came up in what looked to be a Pine forest. “These places are sacred and protected by Wild Magic which feed and protect the Herds.” The sound of pencil on paper could be heard as Laura stopped to take a break.

(Somewhere in the South of Oregon in a surprisingly dark forest for 11:30 in the morning)  
Derek thought he was prepared to deal with anything he found in the woods after the rather elaborate rundown of what he was to do in the car after breakfast. According to the Sheriff, The entire squad would enter the forest, check the surrounding area for any clues to what happened as they moved towards the center. Once they got to the Standing Stones, they would meet up with the group responsible for making the call this morning and get the details from them. Then , as the humans set up a plan with the Oregon Deputies, Derek would shift into his Beta form and enter the Heart and act as an inside source. Derek didn’t have much experience with detective or forensic work but as a First Responder, he did know what to look for when tracking someone. He had worked with firefighters and police to find people who were lost or in danger. He figured he could do this. He was prepared. He figured that if he did a good job, the Sheriff would boast about this to Stiles and maybe Stiles would be impressed.  
“I’m still going to have to figure out a plan on how and when to properly woo and court him. Though having the Sheriff as a boss should get me extra points.”  
Derek was excited to start work. When the Deputies finally got to and entered the forest, another group of tough looking men and women meet them followed by a group of lithe young women who smelled of sap and leaves. The Sheriff and Marin moved Derek over to one of the young women who smelled of maple and clean air. John held both arms out as if he was going to hug the girl, bowed his head and moved his hands to his heart. Marin did the same. The young woman smiled and repeated the gesture. She then turned to Derek and surprisingly gave him the traditional welcome howl an Alpha would give visiting friends. The other women repeated the process. The strange gesture to the Sheriff and Marin and the welcoming howl to Derek. Derek, having manners beaten into him by his grandmother, responded with the appropriate howl of thanks. After what appeared to the formalities were done, the woman who smelled of maple walked over to the Sheriff and Derek.  
“Welcome John Stilinski and may the Mother smile on your son.”  
“Thank you Song of Green leaves, may the Mother smile on your daughters.” The woman called Song of Green Leaves turned to Derek.  
“Welcome Brother, may the Sister give you light and may the hunt never end.” Derek stared bugged eyed at the woman. That was the traditional greeting the members of the Council of Twelve Moons gave each other when they met during the full moon. Derek lost his composure for a few heart beats but got it back in time to respond “Thank you Sister, may the Sister give you light and may you never go hungry.” The woman gave Derek a quick grin and returned her attention to the Sheriff.  
“You made excellent timing, Sheriff. Cecil only just finished explaining what happened and what Yvan managed to recall from the victims.” She shrugged and it sounded like jostled leaves “it’s not much, memory recall is hard to do on dead bodies, and there wasn’t much that was seen outside of the Stones. All we can definitely tell you is that these people were poachers.” The Sheriff looked a bit sour at that. He started to work deeper into the forest with Marin, The boy called Parrish, Derek and the group of woman following.  
“Song” Marin asked the woman, “How are the Stones themselves? Are they going to be in good enough condition by the end of the week?”  
“To be honest, I have no idea. I haven’t seen them myself but from what Cecil has told us, one of them managed to get damaged in the fight. That itself it disturbing. I’m not sure what the condition of the whole Circle is like but if it’s only the one Stone, we might have enough time to find a replacement before the Herds get here.” Marin only nodded, a contemplative look on her face.  
“Excuse me?”  
“Yes Wolf?”  
“If the Stone was damaged, couldn’t you just ask the Sgiathadair for help?”  
“ Oh, we did. Since they were already in Oregon, they got here first. They will be meeting us at the site along with Cecil.”  
The rest of the walk was quiet after that. No one talked but Derek kept his ears open for any and all sounds. It disturbed him that group of women following them didn’t make a sound when walking and the only scent they made was of sap and clean air. After about what felt like an hour of walking, the group stopped in front of an very large stone rectangle. It was as tall as some of the young trees around it. Surrounding it were a group of women and men all with a faint cobalt blue tinge to them. Derek stood transfixed on the sight. He had seen Standing Stones before when his grandmother took him into the woods to hunt but he had never been his close. He felt the power from where he was standing. Four long gashes were in the stone. John walked up to the circle of Casters.  
“What’s damage?”  
“Bad.” was the response.  
“How Bad?”  
“Really bad. The entire integrity of the Stone has been damaged.”  
“meaning?”  
“We can fix it, but not by Friday.” The Sheriff swore something in Polish and motioned for a short woman in black and Derek to come over.  
“Derek, This is Cecil Joust,” John waves his hand at the girl in black “Cecil, this is my new Deputy Derek Hale. Derek here will be our eyes and ears inside the Heart.”  
The look Cecil gave Derek was one his mother gave him often. An aspiring look as if she could tell if he was capable to be any help. After a few more seconds she nodded.  
“He’ll do fine.” Turning on her heels, she walked away. Derek confused at first as to what he should be doing eyed the Sheriff. The Sheriff just grinned a strained grin.  
“Hurry up, She doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”


	21. Bad news, a book,  a stick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kudos. Thanks for all the views, and most importantly, thanks for sticking with me. This is going to be a long story. If any reader has an idea of what they would like to see in upcoming chapters, feel free to comment. There is going to be more magic and humor in the upcoming chapters but we need to set the scene up for that.

Chapter 20  
(The Hale House)  
“You know Talia, when most people say dinner, they mean the meal that you eat at the end of the day. The one in the middle of the day is called lunch.” Peter informed his sister when she used her alpha status to brag his ass back to the Hale house. She hadn’t explained why he needed to come over for dinner/lunch but she damn well made sure he was there. Peter was somewhat disappointed, Claudia and he were going to go have tea with her “book club”. It was at that lovely little place owned by the Trolls with the wonderful veal menu. May be if this business that Talia wouldn’t talk about over the phone was done early, he could still make it if he ran. Peter was a little too lost in his thoughts to notice the glare his sister was giving him.  
“Thank you Peter, I am fully aware of what lunch is. I was going to wait until tonight but realized this couldn’t wait.”  
“It must be since you actually invited me back to the house.”  
As the two wolves were bickering, a green Toyota FJ Cruiser pulled up to the house carrying the other three Hale sisters. Surprisingly only one of them was upset.  
“What in the Hell is wrong with you Talia, I was in the middle of a project.” Jan went off on her younger sister. Before Talia could glare at her, Nancy squealed.  
“Peter. Om My God, you’re home.” Nancy leaped up onto the porch to hug/ tackle her twin. Thankfully Peter was use to his from years of being the only boy and easy caught his sister before they both hit the porch.  
“It’s so good to see you. The house has lost all smell of you.”  
“Hello Nan, good to see you too. I was just in the neighborhood and decided to drop by.” He kissed his twin on the cheek while she hit him in the shoulder for the obvious lie, both were wearing actual smiles on their faces.  
“Come in, come in. I’m going to make all of your favorites.” Nancy dragged Peter into the house before his older sisters could get a word in. Both Jan and Olivia gave Talia raised eyebrow looks while following the younger Hales. In the kitchen, Jan and Olivia were able to properly greet their little brother.  
“Come here softy, give your big sis a hug.” Jan gave the taller male a huge hug to notice something “Maybe not so softy anymore. Damn Peter, have you been working out. You’re as hard as DIon now.”  
“Thank you for that unnecessary comparison and image Jan.” Olivia glided over and gave her little brother a more reasonable hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Welcome home brother.”  
“Well now that we are all here, we can get started.” Talia motioned for her siblings towards the cellar. “Nancy, can you use the kitchen downstair?”  
“Sure, I just need help carrying the food.”  
“Talia, why are we eating in the cellar and what is so important that you called me home after all this time.” Peter inquired of her sister while carrying a ham and several jugs of tea down the stairs.  
“I’ll explain everything once we’re all settled.” After All the food and necessary utensils had been moved, Talia closed the cellar door behind her.

(The Hale Cellar)  
It had been years since all the Hale siblings had actually been in the cellar at the same time. The sisters made it a house rule that only one of them could actually come down here. No one except the women and Peter were allowed under plenty of severe ass kicking. Not even the husbands or children. It was something of a family mystery. Down the wooden steps to a rather large beautifully carved door with no doorknob. Olivia, being the closest, grew one of her claws and opened one of the panels. A small hole, like a key hole, has hidden under it and it was here Olivia carefully inserted her claw and moved it around until a clicking sound and the doors opened towards the wolves. Behind the doors was an exact replica of the first floor of the house only dark and decorated with much older furniture. Nancy moved over to the other kitchen while Talia started up the antique lamps. After Nancy had all the food started, the siblings sat down at an old antique table and stared at Talia.  
“Right, so I have news.”  
“Obviously.What news?”  
“Alan Deaton is back in town.” The other women looked started and looked at each other to confirm what the alpha just said.  
“I know that”Peter told his sister “I saw him at the Governor’s ball. This is not new information. He’s been in town for almost a week.”  
“A week? Then why is this the first time we’re hearing about this?”Olivia demanded.  
“Because he’s hiding.” Talia informed her siblings.  
“Well, he’s doing a piss poor job of it if he’s showing up at public events.” Nancy quipped.  
“Will you let me finish? Alan Deaton is back because he believes he made a mistake and is trying to fix it and before you ask, no it’s not the mistake that got him exiled, it’s a whole new amount of horse shit he landed himself in.” Talia examined the others to see if they were about to interrupt but all their attention was on her. She nodded to herself.  
“It has come to my attention that our old friend” the last word came out like fingernails on a chalkboard “has been up to no good since the last time we saw him. He became a veterinarian again.” That caused several small growls and flashing eyes from the other weres. Talia continued “Alan moved to a new town and started up his old practice believing that he could actually fix his first major mistake if given time and resources while still trying to maintain a low cover but still involved with the community. This led to him using his magic to help animals that couldn’t be saved.”  
“He can still use magic? How?” Nancy asked. Peter went bugged eyed at this bit of information.  
“The bite dad gave him only weakened his powers, it did not make him powerless. That was new to me as well. To continue, he used magic to save some of the new towns pets. He wasn’t very subtle about it and a few, not many, but a few of the townsfolk noticed. Mostly, young children and teenagers who were sensitive enough to notice these things. Believing that these children were capable of being bred casters, he started to train them in secret.”  
“Training them to be druids you mean. If Deaton was attempting to fix the problem, he was going to need more druids.” Peter whispered more to himself but the others heard it.  
“Precisely. The children were a talented bunch and picked up on the arts quickly. Problem was the same problem all humans face. They got a taste of real power and wanted more and Deaton wasn’t going fast enough for them. They started teaching themselves things that druids shouldn’t know until after they finish being journeymen. Deaton, being the blind fool that he is, didn’t realize this until after they had already undergone the marking.”  
The Hale siblings remained quiet as this new piece of information sunk in. Peter was recalling the birthday party and the gift Deaton had given Stiles. A look of horror crept onto his face.  
Jan seemed to have picked up on this as well.  
“Talia, how did Alan teach the children exactly?”  
“He didn’t say. Everything he told me I just told you. I know there is more to this but i simply don’t know how to go about this.”

(Stilinski House)  
Claudia sat in her office with the book in front of her. She still couldn’t believe it. After all these years, her grandmother’s grimoire is handed to her son by one of his best friends. She remember that day, the story Royce told, and she knew that what he said was only the bare minimum needed to give the book to Stiles. Even without opening it, she could tell Breanne had opened it. _Well of course she had, it wouldn’t have opened for her if it didn’t intend to let her use it. It was hers from her father. I just can’t believe she never told me… wait, yes I can. You forget Claudia, Bre is Sidthe, keeping secrets is what they are best at. It’s no wonder Royce is so good with wards, both of his parents magics are about protection things._ Claudia continued to sit with the book in front of her. She wouldn’t search it, not without Stiles there. It would open for her, yes, but the book had been gifted to Stiles and she wouldn’t be use half of what was hidden between those pages without his permission to use it. That being said, there still were things that she could do with it, simple compared to what Stiles would later find, but still far more advanced than the magic she taught her students. Moving a pin over to her, Claudia pricks her finger until a small droplet of blood can be felt. She presses it on the front cover and recites.  
“Jestem Claudia Lis, wnuczka Witch Aleksja. Witam was z powrotem do domu, do swojej rodziny.” (I am Claudia Lis, granddaughter of Witch Aleksja. I welcome you back home to your family).  
Claudia hears the humming of the lullaby her mother use to sing to her and the book flies open. Even with her blind eyes, Claudia can still see the magic in her mind. The spells, the potions, the secrets that were lost after her grandmother was killed all those years ago. Inside the book, it the beautiful handwriting of the Baba Yaga, the book asks  
 **Czy jesteś moim nowym mistrzem? (Are you my new master?)**  
“Nie, jestem jego matka.” (No, I am his mother).  
 **Ach, co może ci pomóc matka? (Ah, what can I help you with mother?)**  
What a question. Claudia could look up practically anything she wanted, within the limits she had as mother of the book’s new master, but what did she actually want to know. She already knew she’d never get her sight back. The best healers in the world told her that and she didn’t really need them anyways. Her magic was more than strong enough to compensate for not being able to see. The power to protect her family from harm. Well, that’s technically what Alison was for and the Deputies would die a thousand times before they let John get hurt. She really didn’t need to know anything about Chris, his mind was an open book to her and Peter’s personal life was none of her business, While she was pondering this, the phone began to ring. Claudia could hear Chris picking it up.  
“Hello Stilinski Residence. This is Chris speaking.”  
Claudia wondered who it was. Everyone in the family and Circle simply called her cell phone of Stiles spoke to her directly if needed. After a few moments, Chris walked into her office with the phone.  
“Umm Claude?”  
“Yes, Christopher? Is there a problem?”  
“It’s Peter. He wants to know if you found a thin box tied with a purple ribbon on it?”  
“Why?”  
“It was one of Stiles’s gifts and was given to him by an Alan Deaton. Peter says that it’s very important that Stiles opens it as soon as possible.”  
 _Well, that can’t be good._ Claudia motions Chris for the phone and he gives it to her while picking up the secure backup line to listen in.  
“Peter, what exactly is going on?” Claudia asks in her “Mother” voice.  
“Alan Deaton is back in town and I’m fairly certain Stiles is going to be in danger soon.”  
“Why?”  
“According to Talia, Alan is back in town hoping to fix the mistake he made.”  
“Which one?” She asks with typical Stilinski sarcasm.  
“The one where he trained a whole cadre of druids and now they’re lose on the population of California.”  
“Ah.” _Well shit, that isn’t good._ “What does this have to do with Stiles being in danger. If there are loose druids, we’ll just set up an alert to bring them in alive.”  
“Claudia, these are not typical druids. They were newts.” _And this keeps getting better and better doesn’t it._  
“So you’re telling me that a rogue cadre of druids are after my son for his magic?”  
“That would be my assumption, yes.”  
“Ok, so why does Stiles need to bot this box quickly?”  
“I have no idea but that’s what Alan told Talia told me to tell you. Claudia are you there?”  
“I’m here Peter. Come home quickly and safely. I think John isn’t the only one who is going to be preparing for trouble.” Claudia looked down at the book. She knew what she needed to know now.

(BHCA)  
Little did anyone know, the box in question was with Stiles at school. He had been trying to figure out how to open the box and was having no luck. Thankfully, the last classes of the day was advance spellcraft. It was the only class where the Casters could actually practice spells without the restrictions of the school wards. This week, the class was learning how to harmonize. Harmonizing, according to their teacher Dr. Greybuck, was the practice of combining multiple magics to complete a single goal. The Casters would focus their minds together and combine their power. The practice was easy in theory but even grown Casters had a problem with it. Thankfully for Stiles, his friends were use to synching their magic already so harmonizing wasn’t that much harder. That being said, some problems did arise.

“What exactly is it?” Royce asks Stiles while looking over the box Stiles brought out of his backpack. Stiles wanted to see if harmonizing would open the box.  
“It’s a sealed box.”  
“Yes I can see that, thank you.”  
“Okay, it’s a birthday present I haven’t been able to open yet and I really want to know what’s inside.”  
“Fair enough, so why did you drag me over here? You already have a group.” Royce nodded to Scott and Lydia. Danny was talking to Dr. Greybuck about something or other. Stiles was looking at Royce with his “I have a great idea” look.  
“Apparently Scott and I are not familiar enough with the process to be of any help.” Lydia retorted with a flip of her hair. She was not happy about being in a group with Stiles. Stiles wasn’t that good at explaining things. It was easier when he could show them. Scott looked dejected at the comment.  
“Alright, sure, I’ll help. My group hasn’t decide what they want to do yet and this should be easy enough.” Royce looked around the room until he spotted a girl with an ink black Katniss braid. “Hey Laurel, could you come over here. Stiles and I need a sixth.” The girl called Laurel turned to Royce, thought for a second and nodded. Jogging over to them, Lydia and Scott noticed her eyes were a striking turquoise . Royce made the introductions. “Scott, Lydia, this is Thessaly Laurel. Laurel, these are Stiles’s friends Scott McCall and Lydia Martin.”  
“Very nice to meet both of you.”  
“Nice to meet you.” Scott and Lydia said together. Laurel was a healthy tan, very tall girl. She was taller than Stiles and only a few centimeters shorter than Royce. She turned to Stiles, “What position should I take?” Stiles pointed to the spot next to Scott, across from Lydia.  
Danny was walking over when he noticed his group had two more members and were already forming a circle. When he arrived, Stiles positioned him next to Royce. Dr. Greybuck walked over to see how the students were doing.  
“Alright, everyone ready?” Stiles asked and receiving nods began the spell.

Everyone grabbed hands, focusing their power as a group onto the task. Royce, Stiles, and Laurel had their eyes shut while they were bathed in the auras of their magic. Scott, Lydia, and Danny watched in wonder as Stiles silver, Royce’s cobalt blue, and Laurel’s Indigo joined together. The three auras swallowed up the bred casters next to them, feeding on their magic. The aura started to move around in a circular motion like smoke in a wind turbine until it became a ring. The box, in the center of the circle, started to float up until it was above the heads of the group. The ring of magic moved up, surrounding the box, becoming smaller and smaller until it just barely surrounded the box. At once, three voices spoke one command in Polish, Celt, and what Lydia recognized as Greek “Box Open”. The ring of magic engulfed the box and the box glowed. A few seconds later, the box fell and landed back in the middle of the circle open. The Casters opened their eyes, released their hands and looked down.  
“What is that? A stick?” Scott asked while looking at the contents of the box.  
“That, Mr. McCall, is a wand.”


	22. A hunting we shall go

(BHCA)  
Stiles had been staring at the wand the entirety of the last period and still couldn’t figure out what it was made out of. Most wands he had seen were made out of wood and some sort of magical core. Harry Potter may be fictional but a lot of the details were actually correct. The thing was most Casters did use wands anymore. It was seen as an outdated practice and many Casters no longer though it was necessary to channel magic through a piece of wood. Sure, they were used in rituals and such but no one actually used them for practicing any more. Dr. Greybuck wasn’t much help either. After a thorough examination of it, all he could tell Stiles was that yes, it was a wand and it was very old. That was it. That was totally not helpful at all. Stiles continued to fiddle with it as he and Scott and Allison walked to his car. Giselle was already waiting for them there with a peeved look on her face.  
“Stiles, do you understand the concept of punctuality?”  
“Yes, it means to show up at a certain time.”  
“Excellent, do you remember what time you asked me to meet you and Scott at your car today?”  
“3:05” Giselle glared and nodded. Stiles still confused walked over to his car to unlock it when he looked at his phone. It read 3:15. Stiles grimaced and looked through the window to Giselle and offered her a half sincere apologetic smile.  
“I’m sorry Giselle, we got caught up in spell casting and totally lost track of time.”  
“It’s not my time you’re wasting Stiles,” Giselle explained as she opened the back of the jeep,”It’s Scott’s. My fathers closes his office at 3:30 on Mondays and I know you wanted Scott to meet him.”  
Stiles shoots Scott a quick look to see Scott looking like a kicked puppy. Alphonse had agreed to meet Scott after school today so that they could start lessons as soon as possible. Stiles, determined to help his friend, started up the car before everyone could actually get their seat belts on and began zooming out of the parking lot with Allison screaming at him to slow down.

(The Woods)  
Derek continued to stagger along, his side still bleeding from the attack. He knew he had to find a place to stop and banaged himself up quickly before they could find him. He was in no condition to fight and he knew Cecil could only do so much during the day time. The only problem was that he had no idea where he was or where his attackers were. Trying to smell them out was nearly impossible thanks to all of the blood loss and they had disguised their scents too well for him to notice in the first place. After about 5 minutes, Derek found a tree that looked like it could be a safe place. There was a whole in the cluster of roots he could lay low. When he got to the whole, he noticed the opening was a little too narrow for him but he had no other choice. Squeezing himself in, derek took off his bloody shirt and looked at the wound. Slashes along his ribs and a bite through his hip made anything but walking nearly impossible. Derek torn his shirt to shreds and started to use them to tie up his wounds. Under normal circumstances, Derek would have already started healing but these were no normal circumstances. An injury from an Alpha doesn’t heal as other wounds do. Cecil and he had been blindsided by the pack and if it hadn’t been for her quick thinking, Derek would have died. A feral howling cut through the air and Derek groaned the tried getting out of the whole. If he stayed there, the pack would find him and they would rip him to pieces. With a pained grunt, he squeezed himself out of the whole and tried to run away.

(Stiles jeep)  
“Stiles?”  
“Yes?”  
“What is that coming out from your backpack?”  
“It’s a wand?”  
“Seriously? When did you get a wand? How did you get a wand?”  
“It was one of my presents. Do you remember that weird black guy at my party who showed up after your family.”  
“Vaguely.”  
“Well he gave me a box and inside the box was this wand. I have no idea what it’s made out of or how to use it but I’m sure I can research it.”  
“Sure Stiles, I’m sure the internet has information on ancient wand lore.” Allison but it sarcastically.  
Stiles scoffed “Please Allison, you can find anything on the internet. Where else can you find free Batman comics.”  
“I will never understand how a Caster with magic powers would want to be a weirdo who dresses up like a bat.”  
Stiles looked over as the passenger seat with a horrified expression. “Did you just call Batman a weirdo?!” Shock and horror laced his voice. “Let me tell you something missy…”  
Stiles began to rant about all the reasons Batman was the best which got Scott talking about why Wolverine was the best which caused Stiles to not pay attention to the road until Giselle screamed.  
“Stiles, watch out!”  
Stiles quickly hit the brakes and tried to avoid hitting the man who just stumbled out into the middle of the street. He barely avoids the man and almost flips the car in his attempt to not hit a tree either.  
“This, Stiles, is why your father wants to hire you a driver.” Allison berates as she assess the damage done to her hair and the rest of her. Scott just looks like he almost peed himself.  
“Hey, we’re all ok and alive. That’s the important thing. Right Giselle? Giselle?”  
Giselle was not in the car. Instead, she was running over to the man who had collapsed in the middle of the street. She dropped next to the man and started an assessment of the damage. The rest of the group quickly got out of the car and jogged over to her and the guy. It wasn’t until Stiles was a few feet away did he notice that the man he almost ran over was Derek. Stiles turned pale. Derek was shirtless. While that would have an enjoyable sight on most days, the large wounds on his sides and the sight of blood made Stiles want to be sick. He was never good with blood. Even paper cuts made him woozy.  
“What...What...What’s wrong with him?”  
‘He’s been attacked and by something very large, very mean, and very hungry. This look like something tried to hold him down and start”  
“Yes thank you, I get the picture.” Allison kneeled down next to Giselle.  
“How old are these?”  
“The’re recent, almost a couple of minutes old, maybe two hours at worst.”  
Stiles looked down as the two girls were talking. This was Derek, the guy Stiles had been fantasizing over the last week. He still looked like a god but the sight of all that blood made Stiles want to cry. A horrible howl pierced through the air. It sounded feral and very angry.  
“We need to get out of here.”  
“No can do. He is in no conditioned to be moved.”  
“Then what do we do?” Stiles looked over at Giselle and Scott. A plan was forming in his mind. Anger rode through him like a wave at whatever did this to Derek.  
“Giselle, can you heal him enough to keep him from dying till we get to your fathers’. Scott, we’re able to see how much latent healing talent you have.” Giselle nodded and motioned for a still stunned Scott over to her. Stiles looked up at Allison. “Do you have your bow with you?”  
“A collapsible one for target practice, but that isn’t going to do much good at whatever attacked him and made those sounds, but I do have my arrows with me. The’re in the back of your car.”  
“Go get them and radio for help while you’re over there.” Allison turned and ran towards the jeep to get her arrows and radio for help. Stiles walked over to a fallen branch by the side of the road. It was slender about about two feet long. Stiles picked it up moved his hands up and down it as if he was peeling off the twigs and leaves and muttered “niech ta gałąź się pomoc z łowczyni” (let this branch become the aid of the huntress). The branch began to glow faintly and began to bend and stretch into the form of a hunting bow. Stiles placed his fingers at the top of the bow pinched the top pulling downwards to become a string. Another howl pierced the air. Allison walked over to Stiles, her arrows on her back. Stiles handed her the bow and she knocked one of the arrows. The Caster and Warder looked back over to Scott and Giselle who were now sitting on either side of Derek. Giselle nodded and the two went off into the woods, Stiles taking the wand Allison handed him.

Derek dreamed of running and playing through a fresh spring meadow with a bright and cloudless sky above him. As with all of his dreams, he was in his wolf form. It was so rare for him to be able to play and run around like this and he wasn’t letting the chance pass him up. The air was so clean, the grass and flowers so soft and the bird singing was so sweet. In fact, the bird singing was so sweet and clear, Derek thought he could make out words. It was the strangest thing, He could definitely make out words. Words he couldn’t understand but words nevertheless. A second voice, lower, male joined the sweet alto and the harmony the two voiced made filled Derek with the need to find the source of such wonderful singing. So he ran. He ran and ran and ran and ran until it seemed like he would he straight into the sun. Derek woke up. The singing became more understandable. A girl with red hair and a boy with brown curly hair were sitting on either side of him, their hands over the wounds. Derek head was killing him and his sight was blurry but he thought he could make out a faint pinkish light around the girl and an even fainter green light around the boy.[ The incantation they sung ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YYelE8qBAM)caused the wounds in his side to sting but it was a very minor pain. The boy was the first one to notice Derek was awake.  
“Giselle, he woke up.” The girl, Giselle, looked up from the wound to meet Derek’s eyes. She gave him a concerned smile.  
“Who do you feel?”  
“Like something just tried to kill me.” Derek muttered as he tried to sit up. The boy and girl pushed him back down with little effort, proof that Derek was indeed not strong enough yet.  
“No moving quite yet Lycan, we’re not done yet and neither are the others. You are going to lay right there until help and if you try to get up, I’ll put you to sleep for a month.”  
Giselle said that last bit with a smile but the gleam in her eyes meant she’d do just that. Derek laid his head back down, gently. It was still hurting him.  
“What happened?” The boy was the one to speak this time.  
“You sort of wandered into the middle of the road and Stiles almost hit you. He avoided you but not before you collapsed. You hit the ground pretty hard.”  
Stiles. Stiles was here. And here Derek was looking like a weakling. God this was embarrassing.  
“where is he?”  
“Who?”  
“Stiles?”  
“He’s out hunting for whatever did this too you.” As if that was a cue, the sound of unhuman screaming erupted from the trees.

 

Allison had known Stiles since she was six. She had seen him do things that were both incredible and incredibly stupid. She had been trained by a former hunter in weapons for almost as long and knew how to remain calm during fights. For Allison to be surprised during a fight was something nearly impossible to achieve but Stiles always seemed to be able to do just that. Stiles and Allison didn’t have to do far to meet the things that had been tracking Derek. Giant feral wolves were not that easy to miss. The lead wolf, a giant thing the size of a horse, moved forward towards the pair as the others, four in all, moved around.  
“Allison, We are going to make sure that these beasts can't get anywhere near Derek and the others.”  
“Alright Stiles. Wait does that mean..”  
“Allison, I may giving you permission to kill.”  
Allison looked at Stiles with wide eyes. Never before had she been given that permission. Casters rarely allowed their warders to take life. But those eyes. Those were John Stilinski’s eyes when he had to execute a hunter. Allison knew, deep in her bones, that whatever these wolves had done to Derek, Stiles would give back ten fold. With that, Allison knocker her bow, took aim and fired an arrow into a wolf’s head. It hit right between the eyes and burst into flames. The wolf die, it’s body consumed by silver fire. Another wolf jumped at Allison before she had time to knock another arrow and was struck down by a burst of black lighting. The scream that came from the beast was one no animal could make. Allison turned to see Stiles cutting through the air with the wand, black lighting erupting from the tip, and the lead wolf trying to avoid getting hit.  
“I’ll handle the lead, you get the rest.”  
“Right, just don’t hit me.”  
“Wouldn’t dream of it Princess.”  
Allison loaded her bow and ran towards the other wolves as they attempted to flee. The lead wolf, realizing the mistake it made, tried to turn and run but Stiles would not let it. Black lighting blocked anyway the wolf moved. It snarled at Stiles but he simply glared and snarled back. This thing had hurt Derek and now he was going to hurt it. The image of a bleeding Derek and the knowledge that these things had been the one to do that made Stiles blood boil. He was about to strike the animal down when his father’s voice played through his head.  
“Stiles, it’s our job to protect. That means that sometimes you have to make hard choices. You can’t protect and get revenge Stiles. You can only do one or the other.”  
Stiles stopped the lighting and took a deep breath and calmed himself. In that few milliseconds, the wolf lunged at Stiles, seeing an opening. Stiles pointed the wand at the beast and said in a quiet voice “Wiążę cię wilka, może znowu nie czujesz księżyc” (I bind you wolf, may you never feel the moon again). A beam of pure yellow light shot from the wand and engulfed the wolf. Stiles turned when Allison emerged from behind a tree. The two walked back to the others, never noticing the human bodies that layed were the wolves fell.  
When Stiles and Allison made it back to the others, Stiles noticed Derek was healed up. He started to get misty eyed.  
“Thank you Giselle, Thank you Scott.”  
“Why are you thanking us, this is what healers do. It’s our job.” Stiles just nodded, unable to say anything. The sound of sirens could be heard and Chris Argent and a group of Deputies arrived at the scene. The Deputies loaded Derek into the back of a van. Stiles wanted to ride with Derek and the Deputy agreed. As he was getting into the car, Giselle asked him to stop.   
“Stiles, could you let me see the wand.” Confused, he handed the wand over to the healer. She held it up to the light and examined it. A concern expression covered her face.  
“Is everything alright?”  
“Stiles, were you aware your wand was made from bone?”Without being able to answer, the car carrying Derek and Stiles left towards the veterinarians office. 


	23. Recall

(Beacon Hills Animal Hospital)  
The Beacon Hills Animal Hospital wasn’t like other veterinarian offices in California. It wasn’t because it was in the seat of power or because of the strange animals that Casters had as pets. No, the reason this veterinarians office was unusual was primarily because of the head of the hospital and his practices. Alphonse Carson was by far the most patient man Eliza had ever met, which was amazing considering what he did for a living. Not only was he completely calm while Tucker was half shifted and crying about getting his rabie shots, but he also managed to calm the boy down by rubbing his head. The man was even able to keep Erica calm while he did her check up. Erica had always hated doctors offices since she was human and suffered from seizures, but she was perfectly fine with Alphonse. No, the part that weirded Eliza out was how calm everything was. No one and nothing seemed to be upset. There was no screams from animals or growls or anything. Everything was perfectly calm and orderly. It unnerved her a bit. That being said, she preferred the calm atmosphere with her enhanced sense than dealing with a regular hospital.  
“Now, Tucker, were you a good boy today?” the little blonde werewolf nodded his head vigorously. “Are you sure?” More nodding. “I agree and because you were a good boy and didn’t cry, you get to play with the puppies while I talk to your cousin alright?” Tucker nodded excitedly and one of Dr. Carson’s sons escorted the pup to where the dogs were kept.  
“Thank you Doctor. You have no idea how much trouble it is trying to get him to get his shots.”  
“Mrs. Hale, I have been giving the Hale family their check ups for over 30 years. I brought all of Talia’s children into the world. I am aware of how difficult they can be now if you excuse me, another member of your family needs my help.”

Dr. Carson left the room with a bewildered Eliza still there until a very familiar scent hit her nose. Blood!? Derek!!!!? Eliza quickly moved into the hall to see a pair of Deputies moving a very large black wolf into the room across from hers. The wolf looked agitated and angry and was growling at the men until it picked up Eliza’s scent. It looked over at her with piercing blue eyes and gave a small whine. Dr. Carson followed after them with a young man and woman close behind.

“Now Giselle, I want you to tell me exactly what happened.”  
“I did vader. I told you on the car ride other here. Speaking of which, Vader, this is Scott McCall. The boy you agreed to tutor.”  
Giselle motioned to a gawking Scott while the Deputies tried to calm down the wolf that apparently was the man Derek. He had shifted in the car on the way over here which prompted Giselle to contact her father via the family bonds.  
“Yes but I need to know what you and Mr. McCall did.” Scott looked up at his name and spoke for the first time since Derek passed out.  
“We healed him. I mean Giselle healed him and I helped kinda sorta.”  
“Yes, Mr. McCall but how did you heal him? What did you heal?”  
“Umm…”  
“We used the Song of Spring versus 1 through 4.” Giselle answered in a matter of fact tone very similar to Lydia’s.  
“Good, that’s good. Oh stop it both of you, you’re only making him more agitated.” Alphonse waved over to the Deputies who were all but wrestling the wolf to the table. The wolf/Derek had been making deep growling sounds in his throat the entire time.  
“Giselle, next door is one of Mr. Hale relatives. please ask her to come him. Mr. McCall, go in the back as ask for Larz to come here and will someone please contact the Hales and The Stilinski’s?”

(The Woods of Oregon)  
John had been waiting for some news from Derek for over two hours and no word had come yet. That was not a good sign. The Standing Stones were still being repaired and the other Deputies were already contacting local covens to see if anything strange had been seen. Morell had gone with Parish to get some food leaving John alone with the radio equipment. He didn’t like the silence. Radio silence was never ever good. Right about the time when he was about to call Derek, a figured appeared near the stones. It was staggering and dragging something behind it. John moved closer to the Stones, making sure not to interfere with the repair work when he recognized the figure. It was Cecil and she looked like Hell.  
“What the hell..”  
“Yes, what the hell. Hell happened sheriff. Hell that I did not see coming.”  
Cecil slumped onto one of the trees close to the stones leaving behind whatever she was dragging in clear view so that the Sheriff could see it. One of Song’s brood rushed over to Cecil to help heal the woman. Cecil started to relax under the ministrations of the girl.  
“Care to explain Cecil.”  
“To put it simple Sheriff, Your new boy and I were attacked.”  
“Attacked!? Inside the Stones? But he was in his beta form. Nothing would have seen him as a threat.”  
“Nothing from inside the Stones would have but we weren’t attacked from something inside the Stones.”  
“Cecil, this is no times for games, what attacked you and where is my Deputy?”  
“This is no game John. The damage to the Stones is worse than we feared. You want to know what attacked us, take a look. I brought her back. All the others followed the boy.” John looked over to where Cecil had motioned and noticed the body for the first time. It was the body of creature. A Were stuck in the transformation between wolf and person. If John’s emotions weren’t so trained, his jaw would be on the forest floor. He looked over at Cecil who just nodded. John knew this creature. He had seen pictures of her all over the cold case room. Hell, he meant her in person once. It was about this time when his phone went off. It was Alphonse Carson.  
“Hello Phonze.”  
“Howdy Johnny, how are you?”  
“Troubled but what else is new?”  
“I understand that.”  
“Is there something I can help you with Al.”  
“Actually it’s what I can help you with. I apparently have something in my possession that belong to you.”  
“Oh, and what might that be?”  
“Your new Deputy apparently.”  
“I’m sorry?”  
“Yes, a Mr. Derek Hale. My telepath says that he is working for you. I thought I should warn you that he is here with me being treated for what looks like an animal attack.”  
“Can you determine what kind of animal?”  
“It appears to be a rather large predator but that’s all we can say until we do a recall. Should I keep you informed?”  
“Yes, please. I will need his statement on what happened to him.”  
“Will do.”  
“Thank you Al.”  
“Be careful Johnny. I’ve buried too many friends to lose another.”  
The phone went dead. John looked over at Cecil who was stretching out her newly healed fingers and arms.  
“Cecil?”  
“Hmmm?”  
“Can you give me a recall of the events of the attack?” Cecil just smiled at John while the air around her started to shimmer.

(Beacon Hills Animal Hospital)  
Chris Argent was never going to get over how his military trained daughter who could remain calm and steady under any circumstance could be turned into a squealing five year old. It was the strangest thing. And Stiles was worse. It was as if the boy’s mind had turned to goo. He wasn’t entirely sure how to handle this.  
“Calm down Chris, there’s nothing wrong with them.”  
“Claudia, how can you say that. Our children have become, well, children.” Chris voice shook in horror as he watched Stiles and Allison eat chocolate cake with their hands and playing pattycake. Claudia gave Chris a rather bemused smile.  
“This isn’t your first time in a sanctuary, Chris. i’m not sure why you're getting so upset.”  
Chris couldn’t make an argument as he watched in horror as the two teeangers finshed their cake and crawled over to where a large horde of bunnies were sitting. Stiles picked up a tiny white bunny and started playing pet the bunny while Allison started rubbing a gray on her face. Soon, the teenagers were covered in bunnies and giggling like crazy. It would have been adorable it it wasn’t so, well, terrifying. Chris whipped his head back between Claudia and the two, trying to articulate the amount of horror and lack of understanding.  
“Be at peace Chris. Nothing is wrong with them. Once the bunnies and chocolate have successfully calmed them down, the effects will wear off.”  
“The bunnies are doing this?” Chris croaked out. “The bunnies?”  
“Well, duh.”  
“How?”  
“They’re Happy Place Bunnies. Alphonse has been using them for years. Didn’t you notice how calm this place ways?”  
“Well yes but I thought Dr. Carson was behind that.” Claudia just shook her head, smiling.  
“Chris, Alphonse is a wonderful healer. One of the best of the last century, but he is no empath. He has no power to help heal broken and fractured minds and emotions. The bunnies on the other hand do. Here, hold one and you’ll feel better.” Claudia moved a finger in a calm hither way and a floppy eared white and brown bunny was lifted and moved through the air to gently land in Chris’s arms. He had no idea what to expect but the feeling of being safe and happy was not it. “Alphonse uses them to help anxious and stressed patients feel comfortable and to help people recover from traumatic events, like what your daughter and my son went through.”  
“ah, yes. That makes sense.” Claudia moved a chair next to her where he could still watch the pair of teenagers play with the mass horde of bunnies.  
“Now, sit down and let the bunny do it’s job.”

Memory recall is the act of bringing forth a person or things memories out into the open so that others may be able to view the memories. It usually appears as an astral projection. Memory recall is a very delicate piece of magic as it has the potential to destroy a person’s ability to form new memories or force someone to relive certain memories over and over again. It is because of its delicate nature that only highly skilled telepaths are allowed to use it. Memory recall is the reason hospitals all of kinds employ telepaths. Telepaths like Lazarus Kipling (Please call me Larz). Larz is the telepath that works for Dr. Carson, a man about 23 who just got his degree in Healing and Psychology from Berkley.

Eliza hadn’t been a wolf for long, only about 3 years and Erica had been one for an even shorter amount of time. They weren’t familiar with the supernatural lore that comes with being born into the supernatural. It still started Eliza when people who didn’t look much older than her were able to move cars with a thought or cause trees to grow out of the streets or relieve her brother-in-law’s memories. The rest of the Hale family that were present (Jan, Laura, Dion and Peter) weren’t fazed a bit. The images of Derek and a short porcelain skin girl came into focus from thin air.  
 _Derek had started to follow Cecil towards the Standing Stones when she turned around to face him._  
 _“I suggest turning here.” Derek nodded and started to remove his clothes. Surprisingly Cecil didn’t blush but instead openly oogled Derek’s muscular body. Use to women barging into his room at all hours, Derek didn’t blush (much) and shifted into his Beta form. After he was finished, Cecil walked right up to the space between a Standing Stone and a tree and held up her right hand._  
 _“You’ll need to move quickly once I part the veil. If you get stuck in it, you’ll be trapped between words unable to move fully into either forever so please move quickly. It’s sort like having all your skin removed from your body. ”_  
 _The air between the Stone and tree began to take on a rainbow tint like oil caught in sunlight. The air parted like a curtain and Beta Derek jogged quickly through the opening, ducking as the opening wasn’t that high. Once Cecil had followed him, the veil closed again and the air stilled. Cecil began jogging inwards towards the center of the Stanging Stones. Derek jogged up beside her._  
 _“Is there anything I should know about being here?” Beta Derek asked/growled._  
 _“Yes. We are officially inside of the ring of the Standing Stones. We are in the most sacred place of any forest, It’s Heart. Through here, you can travel through any forest on the West Coast if they have Standing Stones as well. This is the place where all of the most ancient, legendary and most dangerous creatures call home. Humans are forbidden from entering here and human like creatures have to be careful. Even Casters , except those close to nature, must be wary. The creatures here have their own magic and it can be just as strong as any born Casters.” Derek just nodded after Cecil was done._  
 _“Understood.”_  
 _“Good. Another thing I should mention is that there are no mundane creatures. None. If you smell something you think is mundane, tell me immediately. Chances are it’s either a demon or spirit. I can fight those, you cannot.” Derek huffed indignantly and slightly flexed his arms making sure the girl saw._  
 _“This has nothing to do with physical strength were, demons and spirits are astral creatures and brute strength will do nothing to them unless they are in a physical body. If they are in a body, fell free to wreak havoc on them but once they are down, get away as soon as you can. Demons are notorious for wanting to possess the strongest body they can find._  
 _That made sense to Derek. He was young, strong and virile, He would be the perfect body for a demon to possess. A shiver went up his shine as he thought about the damage a demon could do with his body. The two continued jogging deeper into the forest._

 _A little while later, Derek’s predator sense started to tingle. Something was watching them._  
 _“Miss Cecil?”_  
 _“Yes, Deputy?”_  
 _“Why exactly did you call the Sheriff. I realize someone broke into the Standing Stones and took something but why did that require the Sheriff. Couldn’t you have dealt with it?”_  
 _“Under normal circumstances, yes. The members of the !@#%^ &%$# tend to handle these problems ourselves. The reason we called the Sheriff was because of the of who these people were and what they took.”_  
 _Another shiver, this one stronger. The hair on the back of his neck started to stand on end and his nose started to itch. Something was close and it was bloodthirsty but no scent came yet._  
 _“Who were they and what did they take?”_  
 _“Newts. Druid Newts specially and they took a cub.” Suddenly the smell of wolf hit Derek’s nose like a ripe and stinky cheese. It wasn't just one either, it was close to six. Everything Derek learned about Pack Fighting suddenly came to mind._  
 _“Cecil, do not make_ any _sudden changes. We are being stalked.” Derek whispered as low as he could with Cecil still being able to hear him. Cecil did not stop jogging and her scent did not change but her eyes looked up and asked ‘which way are they?’_  
 _“There are about six wolves behind and around us. Where is the best place to fight.”_  
 _“Just like a male, it’s always stand and fight with your gender.” Derek could smell the traces of fear through the sarcasm. These must the the demons she had been talking about earlier. Six would be almost impossible to beat with just the two of them. Quietly, almost too quietly, Derek’s well trained ears picked up the sound of snapping tree branches._  
 _“Cecil Run!!!” Derek took off and was surprised at how fast the smaller girl could kept up with him. The wolves behind them started the gallop after them. Derek and Cecil ran through the woods until Cecil turned towards a darkened part of the forest._  
 _“What are you doing? We need to run someplace open.”_  
 _“I fight better in the dark. I can do more the less sunlight we have.” Instead of following, a giant red-brown wolf the size of a horse jumped in front of Derek, cutting him off from Cecil. Derek extended his claws and barreled right into the beast._  
Only the sounds of wolves fighting could be heard as the image disappeared.

“I’m sorry Dr. Carson. That's all I could get before it went fuzzy.”  
“That’s perfectly fine. Thank you Larz. Could you give me a few minutes with the Hales.”  
Larz nodded and after receiving thanks from the Hales, left the room. Alphonse turned to face the werewolves. A somber expression on his face.  
“Well, is there anything you can tell me?”  
“His instincts took over.” Laura spoke up first. “That’s probably why Larz couldn’t find anything. Derek wasn’t thinking, he was running on adrenaline and instinct.” Laura sounded very proud of her younger brother. He had faced down a larger enemy with everything he had. He might of lost but he put up one hell of a fight. Dion walked over to Derek who had shifted back to a human and was feeding a rather large and ridiculously fluffy bunny a carrot. He was smiling and hadn’t been paying attention at all. Dion extended his claws on one hand and pinched the back of Derek’s neck drawing blood before patting the younger man on the shoulder. Derek looked up at his uncle and gave him a reassuring smile and held up his hand not holding the carrot into a fist for his bump. Dion fist bumped his nephew. There were no scars from the attacks though Alphonse had recorded in detail the damage done to Derek by the larger wolves and the healing he, Giselle, and Scott had done. That would be reviewed with the family at a latter time, hopefully. Alphonse continued to look at Jan and Peter, a worried look on his face.  
“Jan, Peter. Did you recognize the wolf Derek attacked?” They both nodded though neither of them volunteered any information. Alphonse just signed.

(Forest in Oregon)  
John finished watching as Cecil fought off the wolf that followed her and managed to bash it’s head in before collapsing from the wounds she received. The woman on the ground near them still hadn’t woken up but they could tell she was healing herself slowly. Being hit with dark magic took far longer to recover from than normal but being feral increased the healing ability at the loss of their ability to change back into humans.  
“So, Derek fought off the remaining wolves and ran off with them chasing him. The problem is you don’t know what happened after that.” Cecil nodded, completely healed now and walked up to John on her side of the veil.  
“Sheriff, we need him to come back. There is no way for anything else to bring back the cub.”  
“How is he going to know what kind of cub. You didn’t manage to tell him much before the attack.”  
“Sheriff, a partial Cadre of Newt Druids are wandering around California with a creature that hasn’t been seen for nearly 1000 years. I’m sure someone is going to figure out where they are. My concern is that they need to get the cub back before the herds arrive or else.”  
The sheriff nodded and hit the speed dial on his phone. This went from being Sheriff business to Circle business.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The !@#%^&%$# isn't a swear word. It's to cover up the secrecy of what Cecil is.


	24. The other side of the story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit gruesome but there is no gore.

(Berkeley University)  
This was not good. This was really not good. In fact, this was so far beyond not good it zoomed passed terribly and landed straight on doomed. What were they thinking? Sure, it sounded like a good idea. Hell, it sounded like fun when they thought of it all those months ago but now, now things were really really doomed. A young man about 18 or 19, short, skinny, with coffee and cream colored skin frantically passed the lab where the remainder (six of the seven that survived) were staring at the thing that the had barely managed to bring back. What the hell were they thinking agreeing to something like this. It was madness, it was ludicrous, it turned out to be suicidal.  
“Stop it Pearce, you’re driving me insane.” A tall and buff Indian man scowled at the shorter boy.  
“Leave him alone Freebear, not all of us have the luxury of being heartless.” A willowy Asian woman standing at the other side of the room glared at the Indian.  
“I’m not heartless, I simply know how to keep my cool Rin.” He glared right back at her. The others in the room just continued to breathe as if that was all they could do. The boy called Pearce continued to frantically pace. The sound of yowling and the clanging of metal bars could be heard from the far side of the room. No one wanted to check on the creature, afraid of what it might do. Meredith, the stupid woman who had planned this whole terrible and doomed mission was already dead, her heart being ripped from her chest after she herself was ripped to pieces by that woman. She has been the only casualty from their van but that wasn’t nearly the good news it should have been. Including the people who had been killed by the creatures parents, the ones killed by those black smoke things, and then finally the ones whose vans and been ripped apart by magic from what looked like high schoolers from the 1950s, 41 of the original 48 who went out were dead. Finally one of the others spoke up.  
“Does anyone know how Giver is holding up?” Another of the survivors, the only other girl, responded.  
“He’s sleeping. I did manage to stop the bleeding but he had already lost a lot of blood by the time I did. He’ll survive but I don’t know how he’s going to react when he finds out Meredith is dead.”  
“I think we should simply tell him that she died and not mention what happened to her body afterwards.”  
A shudder went through the room. No one wanted to remember that. More yowling and banging filled the empty silence. Without warning, the door to the room banged opened and in walked the man called Giver. Julius Giver was the quintessential golden boy: perfect smile, perfect blonde hair, perfect body with the perfect sized muscles, a charming personality that just made people want to follow him, an alpha male complex that fitting him like a second skin, beautiful eyes that were usually so reassuring and now filled with a dull rage. Julius was the perfect student, Deaton’s best apprentice, who got perfect grades and was every teacher's favorite student. Only now, that golden boy wasn’t so golden. He complexion was pale and his hair limp. His swayed a bit as he entered the room as the man called Freebear helped him sit down. Julius tried to grap the chair but his arm up to his elbow and been destroyed. He growled a curse and sat down with help from Freebear. He looked around the room to the five people sitting and the one pacing.  
“Jacob, please sit down. You’re making me dizzy.” As if by magic, the boy stopped and moved other to sit down by the woman Rin.  
“Alright, it seems I’ve been unconscious for a while. Tell me what happened.”He looked around the room when no one answered. “Come on now people, I need to know what;s been going down. How long have I been out and what have you guys been doing.” The voice that made people want to obey and to please him sounded so tired, so drained. Finally, the other girl, a short girl who looked like a Midwestern leprechaun spoke up.  
“You’ve been out for out 18 hours. You still should be asleep.” She gently chided him. He smiled at her but received no response from any of the others.

“You really want to know what happened?” A male voiced called out from the back of the room near the banging and the yowling. It sounded young but the power under it was very old.  
“You’re friends got exactly what was coming to them, especially that blonde bitch in the front seat.” Giver looked over at where the voice was coming from. A little boy, no older than 12 or 13 was sitting in a corner with his hands and feet tied with silver wire. His messy black hair had once been gelled but now fell over his eyes. His eyes were a disturbing color of whitish blue, the color of snow and ice.  
“Would out guest care to elaborate on that?” Giver’s voice was clipped but still polite.  
“I think that you should lie down Giver and let us deal with him.” One of the other boys pleaded.  
“Thank you for your concern but I would like to know what we means. Well?”  
“Giver please. You’re not well and you shouldn’t even be up. Listen, we’ll shut the brat up and let you talk to him when you’re feeling better, how does that sound.”  
“Brat? Really? is that the best you got?”  
“Listen hear you little puke, you better be polite or I’m going to beat some manners into you.” Freebear growled while punching his fist into his other hand. The boy didn’t have the decency to look even a little scared. He simply looked Freebear up and down and signed.  
“To think, the grandson of such a powerful Shaman would bring such shame onto his family by this behavior. But I guess it’s expected, being born from a failure and such.” Freebear growled and marched over to the boy, pale energy surrounding him.  
“Freebear, don’t.” A warning came out but it was too late. Freebear aimed a kick at the little boy and was sent flying into one of the lab tables with a sickening crunch of his spine. The short girl ran over to him, checking on him as a pained groan escaped his lips. Faint healing magic could be felt around the room. Giver rolled his eyes at the Indian.  
“Well, what happened to Meredith?” He asked the boy. The boy just smirked and told him of what happened after the group escaped the woods.  
“After the unfortunate accidents the others vans had and while you were fighting off Felix, the Beast.” He put an odd emphasis on the word as if it was it’s name,”Accident!? You sick fuck’s ambushed us.”The boy ignored the outburst and continued “managed to escape and your Meredith ran after with a cage, unfortunately for her ,Alice got to her before she could but the poor dear back into the horrid thing.” A painful memory entered Julius mind as the boy told his story.

  
 _Julius had been worried about Meredith since she had wanted to ride in a separate van than him. His fiancee had always been impulsive and rarely thought anything through entirely. The whole van had been shaken by what had happened in the woods. Sure, the managed to get through the Standing Stones but Lenny had died in the process. There wasn’t even enough of him to bury, but a spot in the grass where he burned to death. It had gotten worse when they actually found something. The large cat things should have been easy to take down but they underestimated how weak their magic would have been. Sure they had the rope and rods but ten of their friends had died trying to get the one cub away. It was even worse when those shadow people attacked. Their number went from 48 to 28 in less than 10 minutes. Once they ran from the Stones with the cub and managed to get back into the vans, everyone still alive thought the worse was pass them. They were so terribly wrong. A biker gang from what looked liked they were from 1955 were riding past them, ignoring them until the little monster yowled. The woman riding bitch on the lead bike snapped her head towards the sound so quickly and worked so fast that the people in the first van didn’t even have time to react before the entire thing was incinerated by a blast of white hot light._

_Things escalated quickly as all the vans were hit by waves of lesser magic while the bikers rode past them and turned around to face them. The vans swerved and some turned over including his and the one that Meredith was in. The bikers girls, all of them wearing twisted and dark versions of poodle skirts, got off the bikes and walked over to the vans. All had black as pitch hair in various 1950 styles and white cold eyes except the one in the lead. Her hair was worn straight down as was tied up with a bow. Her eyes were the only different ones he remembered. They were the color of a setting sun in summer. Giver, whose van had fallen with the driver side up blew the door off without even thinking of the other passages and ran towards the lead girl, hoping that by attacking her, he would be able to save Meredith. He was interrupted by the lead biker who had jumped between him and the girl. Giver released the spell he was preparing. He was strong in the power, his well was stone and he was on a road. He knew he could win. Giver had never faced a Born Caster before nor a Warder and was not prepared for the power struggle. His fist collided with the bikers and a wave of power like none Giver had ever felt erupted between the two men. Giver spared the briefest look over the the two vans behind his. One was carrying Meredith and the other the creature. Giver would not loose, not in front of the girl._

_Too bad his girl wasn't even paying attention. Meredith had watched as a little boy walked over to the van in front of hers. It had been one of the only vans not to turn over. The other vans had already been destroyed by the biker girls with only bits and pieces of car left and no sign of the people inside of them. But Meredith didn’t care about that, what she cared out was what the boy was doing. She watched him approach the car and with a flick of his head, all the doors were torn off. The guys inside the van were ready and jumped out to attack the boy. They have gathered up their power through their wells and leaped out to release their spells. Not a single one landed. The boy looked upon his attackers and gave a small frown. With a quick jerk of his fingers, like pulling threads, the guys from the van were thrown into the air so high that not even their screams could be heard. The little boy nodded and walked over to the van. He exited a while later with the beast in his arms. Meredith screamed in fury and broke the windshield with a blast of air. She crawled out of of the van and ran towards the boy. The others in the car ran after her. Meredith held some of the silver rope and threw a gust of wind at the boy. It took him by surprise and blew him into the air. He dropped the beast and was spinning in the air while Meredith looped the rope around him and pulled down. the boy hit the ground with a loud thump. Meredith repeated the process two more times until she was satisfied. she turned towards the beats that was trying to run into the woods but was levitated over to her. She motioned for a cage that Jacob was carrying with him and managed to get the beast back into the cage. She motioned for them to go to the van that wasn’t turned over. She kicked the boy on the ground a few times until a whimper escaped his lips. She smiled a cruel sneer and threw him back into the air again planning on dropping him a few more times. Meredith never knew when enough was enough. Rin tried to call her to stop but she would listen. She simply told them to start the car. That was the last things she ever said._

_Julius was still fighting the biker with everything he had. It was a standstill. He knew that he could just push a little harder he would win. He always won. A scream of “Fitz” came from one of the biker girls. The lead biker eyes widened a bit at a whimper coming from a child and suddenly it wasn’t a standstill anymore. Julius saw more than felt his arm being ripped apart by the power the of the bikers fist. A numb feeling ran up his arm and he watched his arm being destroyed. He fell to his knees as the blood from his arm left his body. He was conscious enough to watch as his Fiancee be flung into the air before everything went black._

“What happened to Meredith?” Julius asked in a calm tone. It was Jacob who answered.  
“We don’t really know. All we managed to see was her heart being ripped out of her chest.”  
“Was that it?”  
“Well,” Jacob sounded both nervous and like her was going to be sick “There was nothing attached to her chest except her head.”  
That struck Julius hard. This whole ridiculous plan had been her idea in the first place and now she was dead. The attempt to overshadow her sister had cost him the love of his life. The sounding of clanging metal could still heard. Julius looked over at the cage where the beast was still trapped.  
“We are going to finish this. One way or another, we are going to finish this.”


	25. Fluff and Stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience. As always, any feedback is greatly appreciated.

(Beacon Hills Animal Hospital)  
It had been a few hours since Derek’s recall and he was finally settled down enough that he didn’t need the bunny anymore, much to his disappointment. It was strange how an animal that wolves traditionally use as food could bring him such piece of mind. He missed the fluffiness of the bunny but he didn’t feel on edge anymore. Having Eliza and Jan there was helpful. Eliza had all the making of the next Pack Mom after Jan retired from the position. She had the natural ability to calm others down and always wanted to help. Her patient and warm personality it what made her such a wonderful speech therapist at the elementary school near the house. Still a bit restless, Derek picked up the cup that Alphonse had left calling the stuff inside “sweet dreams are made of these”. He said it with such a seriousness that Jan and Peter couldn’t help but snicker. He sniffed it scenting lavender, mint, holly, jasmine and something that smelled like sheep. Scenting nothing poisonous, he took a big gulp and was amazed to find that it tasted like cotton candy and peppermint sticks. The instructions Alphonse left were that he had about 2 hours before the effects kicked in, enough time to get something to eat and head over to the Stilinski place. That made Derek nervous. He understand why he had to go over there, he had to give his report to the Sheriff but the thought of going inside the impressive house made his stomach fill with butterflies. He hadn’t really spoken more than half a dozen words to Stiles and now he was spending the night under the same roof. God he hoped he didn’t screw this up.

Stiles himself was feeling just as anxious but for an entirely different reason. Both his mother and Dr. Carson had spent the last hour and a half getting all the details about the attack and what Stiles and Allison did. The recall they underwent was under the influence of the bunnies but as they were human, it was much easier to focus the memories without either of the teenagers paying attention. When Stiles had been removed from the bunnies, he his first thought was if Derek was alright and then wondered out loud why her was covered in chocolate and bunny hair. After a brief explanation that yes Mr. Hale was perfectly fine and that Stiles was a messy eater, the interrogation began. Stiles had been interrogated before by his dad, by the Circle, and by the Truth Seekers when he was selected to be Governor so he was familiar with the process. What Stiles wasn’t use too was the presence of the werewolves in the room. Peter was fine but he had never met the two females whom were apparently Peter’s oldest sister Jan (Stiles remembered her from the phone call) and his niece Laura (there wasn’t a person in California who didn’t know whom Laura Hale was. She was becoming one of the most well respected Magical Historians in the country). What was worse was that neither his mother nor Dr. Carson had actually spoken to him for about 30 minutes when they found out about the wand. Instead, they had been yelling at each other.  
“Alphonse, for the last time, give Stiles back the wand.”  
“Claudia, do you even realize what this thing is? It’s bone!”  
“Yes, you’ve told me and the entire room at least five times now. So what. It’s not a human bone so it isn’t any concern of yours.”  
“How do you know it isn’t human bone!? Hells Bells Claudia, how did Stiles even use it?” Alphonse was starting to sound a bit fanatic at this point. A magical tension started to fill the room which made Stiles itchy.  
“Stop that Alphonse.” Claudia snapped “You are a grown man and should have better control on your emotions. Of course it isn’t a human bone. You can’t make wands out of human bones, you of all people should know that.”  
“That still doesn’t answer how Stiles used it or what he did Claudia.” Alphonse snapped back.

The air was still itchy and Stiles was not enjoying this. Deciding that we wanted to be talked too instead of over, he started to chill the air. A faint blue tint filled the air around him and the room went from itchy and warm to fairly frosty in about ten seconds. The human in the room started to shiver while the werewolves and rabbits didn’t seem to notice at all (Stupid fur coats and higher body temperature).  
Despite the sudden temperature drop, the room did become much more pleasant. Claudia let out a sigh and smiled at her son.  
“Thank you darling, that helps.” She turned back to Dr. Carson “Alphonse, what of instead of having a pointless yelling contest, we ask Stiles how he did it hmm. I would like to get home before my husband and start dinner not to mention I apparently am having a guest over tonight.” Alphonse seemed to be calming down.  
“Very well.” Dr. Carson turned to Stiles who looked at him with an expectant look. “Stiles, Sir, do you know what this thing” He pointed to the wand that was laying on a cushion “ is?”  
“Why yes Dr. Carson, it is my birthday present.” Alphonse gave him a flat eyed glared and whispers under his breath “Gods, he just as bad as his mother.” Peter snorted at the remark.  
“What I mean is..” Stiles raised his hand and Alphonse quieted, surprised at the sudden change in the young man’s voice and tone.  
“What you mean is do I know that that is a wand made out of a bone, yes I do. Do I know what kind of bone? no. You also want to know how I used it. It was simple. I wanted to hurt the wolves that attacked Derek and that’s what I did. I have no idea what kind of magic the black lighting was but the beam of light was a sealing/ blocking spell. I prevented the wolf from ever feeling the moon again.” Claudia beamed proudly at her son for his seriousness in regards to the matter knowing that it wouldn’t last too much longer. Stiles continued.  
“Dr. Carson, I understand why you're worried. Wands and similar objects should only be used by those who have trained with them and all the country’s wands have been documented and are monitored. That being said, shouldn’t wand be documented as well. I got it from Dr. Deaton after all.” That last bit caused Peter and Jan to stiffen and look at the wand again, this time with more scrutiny. “ And until you or the Circle come up with a better reason for why I shouldn’t have it, I will take back my present now.” The wand moved from the cushion to Stiles open hand. “Goodnight Dr. Carson and thank you for your help.” And with that, Stiles left the room with far more dignity than he entered with followed by everyone but the vet who sat down and picked up one of the bunnies.

(Stilinski Residence)  
The drive over to the house was very quiet. After Peter and Jan had explained briefly to an infuriated Talia as to why her son was in the hospital and was not coming home, the Hale women hugged Derek and headed back to the manor, steadying themselves for the verbal tirade awaiting them. Before he got in the car with Peter, Derek received a text from Jan.  
He was worried about you something awful. You haven’t embarrassed too badly. Don’t fuck this up ;)  
Derek sighed loudly. When Peter looked over to see if anything was wrong, all Derek said was “How in the world did Jan ever get married?”  
“That, dear nephew, is one of the family’s great mysteries.”

The two cars, the one this the wolves and the other with everyone else, pulled up to the side of the house where Derek got a view of the back yard. The front yard was impressive but the backyard would have but the Botanical Gardens and the preserve to shame. It was an Eden, a perfect paradise filled with flowers, bushes, shrubs and trees of various shapes, colors, and sizes. The fragrance that hit Derek’s nose wasn’t the horrid stench of competing aromas but a wonderful symphonies to delight the olfactory system.  
“Impressive isn't it.” It was a statement more than a question and all Derek could do was nod in wonder.  
“How though?” Peter just grinned.  
“Why Stiles of course.”

“Now Derek you have a few choices in terms of bedding.” Claudia told him as the kitchen went to work on making dinner for the larger group. Derek didn’t even know what to expect when stepping inside of a Caster’s home, possibly something similar to Home and Garden or some other designer home magazine his aunt gets or something dark and mysteries, not the cozy looking home you’d find in the suburbs. It wasn't all grand architecture his family home was but it certainly had the impression of being grand. It was more of a palace than a castle. Build for comfort, not to be intimidating. The kitchen was even more amazing. When asked what he wanted for dinner, he said the first thing to come to mind “Umm… a t-bone steak, rare?” and suddenly the kitchen came to life, preparing a five star dining experience.  
“1. You can sleep in one of the guest rooms. 2. you can join Peter in his room, or 3. You can sleep outside. With it being Spring soon, I know Peter prefers the outdoors more than the indoors.” Claudia gave him a friendly smiled but did not give him time to respond. “Now, when you decide, tell Stiles and he’ll set you up. Dinner should be ready shortly.” A bang and the sound of something dropping came from the kitchen, “ if the oven doesn’ t stop misbehaving. Now relax and make yourself at home. John will be home soon and you can discuss whatever you need to discuss is. Make it quick though, that potion you drank earlier will hit you soon.” and with that, Claudia left a frazzled Derek in the sitting room.

“Intense isn’t she?” Derek looked up the master stair case to see Stiles coming down them.  
“Uh, yeah just a bit. Not as bad as my mother but yeah.” Stiles nodded his understanding.  
“Peter has told me about his sisters. Makes me glad mom and dad didn’t give me any. Soooo, how are you feeling?” Stile was now at the bottom of the stairs, awkwardly moving from foot to foot, avoiding looking at Derek directly.  
“I’m doing good. Healing factor kicked in.” Derek puffed out his chest a bit to show how much he was feeling better. Stiles looked up and blushed furiously. Derek, sensing the awkward tension decided to, as Jan to eloquently put it, not fuck this up.  
“Thank you Stiles.” Stiles heart jumped at the sound of his name coming from Derek. He busied himself with finding something to do with his hands.  
“Umm… yeah sure no problem dude.”   
“I mean it Stiles. Thank you. if you hadn’t helped, I might have been killed.” Stiles looked directly into Derek’s eyes at that and noticed again the beautiful color they were.  
“You’re welcome Derek. I wouldn’t let you die.” Stiles face burned a bright red at his omission and started to avoid Derek’s gaze again. A few seconds later the couch burst into flames. Derek remembered seeing this at the party, wondering is this was a response to Stiles being embarrassed. Derek watched in amazement as a the couch cushion absorbed the flames and turned itself over, letting out what could be called a burp.  
“Stiles, did you set something on fire again?” Claudia’s voice came from the kitchen.  
“No mom, everything is cool out here. Just two dudes talking. Everything is absolutely normal. out here, in the sitting room.”

Deciding to save Stiles from further embarrassment as the possibility of burning down the house, Derek sat down on the couch and was pleased to find it cool to the touch. He motioned for Stiles to sit as well, which he did on the opposite side of the couch.  
“ Your house is amazing.”  
“Thanks, it’s nothing special. Some of the houses on the East Coast as much more fancy.”  
“What I meant was that it’s very cozy.”  
“Oh, oh. yeah. Mom and dad didn’t want the traditional magic keep that mom grew up in. They wanted something that didn’t scream “Welcome to the Dark Ages””.  
Derek grinned at that. He was familiar with the keep idea Stiles referred too. The manor use to be like that before mom became Alpha.  
“I was really impressed with the garden. Peter said that that was your doing.”  
Stiles blushed again, but this time no flames erupted. Instead, the flowers on the table started to bloom and the scent of lilacs and thistle filled the room.  
“Thanks. That means a lot. The garden was actually my first big magic i did by myself.”  
“Really? Tell me about it.” Derek was intrigued. He knew very little about magic and Casters except what his family told him of their former emissary. Here was his chance to understand not only a Caster, but Stiles, a little better.  
“It was a present actually. My family was attacked by witchers when I was ten. They set my house on fire using hellfire. My dad managed to get me out without much damage but my mom stayed. She stayed to control the flames and prevent them from burning the town. She was badly hurt by the time a storm singer was able to put the flames out. The healers spent weeks helping my mom heal and they did help her heal almost completely.”  
“Almost?”  
“In order to control hellfire, you have to give something up. It’s very powerful black magic and requires blood magic to counter it. My mom’s eyes were already damaged from the smoke so she decided to give up her sight.” Stiles voice had started to crack near the end and Derek moved closer hoping to comfort the boy.  
“It was near Spring and my mom always loved planting and growing flowers but now she couldn’t see them. So, that year, I decided that I would grow flowers that my mom could see. I bought all her favorite flowers and plants from the Dryads and my dad and I planted them. It took us a few weeks. When my mom got released from the hospital, I used my magic to make all the flowers grow and shine with magic so that my mom could use her magic to see them.”  
Derek was floored at the story. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to watch your home be destroyed by fire as his mother stayed to make sure other people remained safe. He imagined a small Stiles and his dad working countless hours of digging and planting to make the paradise he saw outside. Then for a small boy to be able to use such powerful magic just so that his mom could see flowers again.  
“Stiles..”  
“Yeah?”  
“Would you like to have dinner with me on Friday?”


	26. The nightmare begins

(Hale House Thursday night)  
The last few days had been good for Derek. He managed to have a successful evening at the Stilinski’s without overly embarrassing himself or strangling Peter. He managed to start wooing ( or at least what he considered wooing ) Stiles. He did not actually get to talk to the Sheriff since by the time that he actually managed to get home, the potion Derek took knocked him out flat. He had apparently been moved outside and slept with Peter in his wolf form since that was how he found himself the next day. The best part of the whole evening was he actually had a date with Stiles for Saturday night. The only part of the whole being attacked thing that was actually a downer was having to explain it to his parents. He was a grown man/wolf and he didn’t really need to explain why he wasn’t home but his parents (Talia) were slightly overbearing and always wanted to know where her unmarried children were. When he got home on Tuesday morning, he had a run in with an infuriated Alpha and a surprisingly angry Beta but the weird thing was that the Beta wasn’t angry at him. Instead, she was angry with Talia. Derek had never seen Jan mad before nor did he ever want to again. Talia’s temper was a flash fire- hot and dangerous but quick, Olivia was a like dry ice- cold and terrible but easy to avoid if you’re smart, Peter was a snake bite- quick, verminous but can be fixed with the proper care, Nancy was a wind - ever changing, always hot air but easy to predict and then there was Jan. Jan was easy, playful, full of bark but little bite. It was sometimes hard to realize she was the oldest of her siblings. Her fury was a awe inspiring and disastrous. Jan was a tidal wave - powerful, destructive and almost impossible to escape. It was in the middle of a battle of fire and water that Derek found himself in the middle of when he walked through the door. Talia was furious that Derek was attacked and did not come home, that she wasn’t informed that he had been taken to the doctor’s or that he went into the house of Claudia Stilinski. Her Alpha pride would not allow her to see that Derek wasn’t a pup. Jan was furious that the wolf that attacked derek was alive in the first place apparently.

_“How dare you keep my son’s welfare from me. I am Alpha of this pack and I will have your respect as his mother.”_  
 _“Alpha? Alpha? How dare you call yourself an alpha you lying mongrel bitch.” Jan seethes at her sister_  
 _“Mongrel? How dare you, I am no mongrel you Beta bitch.” Talia is livid with the insult and starts to partially shift but isn’t fast enough. Jan is already partially shifted and has her sister in a choke hold before Talia can blink. The men applaud the move as Jan starts to tighten her grip._  
 _“Yes, mongrel for only a mongrel lies to her pack for 25 years.” Jan slams Talia into a wall. Talia breaks her sister’s grip but not before she hits the wall. the impact leaves a huge dent but doesn’t break through it. All the walls are reinforced for this exact reason. Dion is cheering his wife on as the two wolves start to circle each other._  
 _“I have no idea what you are talking about.”_  
 _“Lies.”_  
 _They clash. Nancy is moving around the room and opening a window while Olivia moves towards the other women and with a surge of strength, pushes them through the open window onto the front lawn where both shift into their full wolf forms and began to attempt to ravish each other._  
 _“Ummm ?” Derek stares at the horror that is the living room. It is completely decimated. Nothing survived the rage. Derek stares at his aunts._  
 _“Yes Dear.” Both sisters just seem to treating this like the emperor’s new clothes._  
 _“Why are mom and Jan fighting?”_  
 _“Because your mother is a lying bitch who deserves to get a thorough beating,.” The nonchalance that Nancy answers with disturbs Derek’s wolf more so than the words._  
 _“Care to explain?” The sound of snares and pain coming from the front yard is causing his wolf distress. Pack shouldn’t fight each other._  
 _“Jan, Laura, and Dion told us about the recall,” Olivia seemed to be examining her nails and not at all bothered that her sisters were trying to kill each other, “and the fact you were attacked by a pack of feral werewolves.”_  
 _“And?”_  
 _“The brownish reddish one, you remember? Yeah, we know her.”_  
 _“Wait, what? How? Who?” Olivia turns to face her nephew, the sound of the pack cheering on the two wolves as they went back to partially shifted form and used moves that would make the WWF cringe._

Derek shakes his head and goes back over the date ideas for Saturday. He has the full wooing Stiles outline and the first date was important to fulfilling the rest of the plan. Derek was pumped and from what he remembered, Stiles was too.

(Beacon Hill Woods)  
Even though Royce had seen Chase without a shirt on many times before and after they started dating, it always gave him thrills to see the powerful muscles of the man’s body flex and move. Seeing his warder’s powerful body go through training and the strength he possessed always gave him butterflies and caused stirrings in his loins. Chase had the body of a proud warrior, a devil may care smirk, and eyes that burrowed into Royce’s soul. in short, his man was a rugged hunk. Chase wore nothing but a leather thong and the paint of a warrior, the ancestral attire of Royce’s paternal; grandmother’s family on a hunt. Chase was tracking something. Something he was determined to catch no matter what. The look of determination was proof of that. Royce could tell from behind the tree he was hiding behind that this would be a chase worthy of a story. The proud warrior chasing the elusive spirit. While Chase wore the buckskins of a warrior, Royce wore the traditional clothes of his mother’s people. The greens and blues silks of the fae helped him blend in with the night. Royce let out a sigh, one that Chase must have heard as his head snapped up in Royce’s direction. The Chase had begun.

Usually, the chase went like this. Royce would run through the woods, ducking and dodging and usually just being difficult to catch as all fae are when the run and Chase running after his quarry with the skill and determination of a true warrior. Usually it ended after several hours and Chase sneaking up on Royce by a lake or in a clearing where things got … well… they turned into a scene from one of his mother’s romance novels. After All, what healthy teenage boy doesn’t desire sex with the one they love, particularly with how powerful Chase was. Actually, if he had his way, he and Chase would put his mother’s writings to shame. Royce never had a problem being the bottom, he knew Chase would take care of him. Allways had and always will. Unfortunately, this wasn’t like normal.

Royce should have expected something was up when he noticed that no matter how slow re ran, Chase wasn’t able to catch him. Secondly, the lake or clearing he usually runs too wasn’t there. Instead of the forest by his house, this was a forest he hadn’t seen in a long time. This was the area on the other side of town, the woods over by the preserve. Royce continued to run, slowly but steadily, having no knowledge of where he was or where he was going. A sound, too quiet to be a whisper but strong enough to be heard over the silence.  
“Cousin…”  
Royce looked around in confusion “Cousin?” the voice was coming from the East.  
“Well, that’s as good as any direction.”  
The voice was leading him towards an old part of the forest, a part his father told him to never come to alone and Chase was nowhere to be seen.  
“Cousin..please hurry.”  
The sound of running could be heard all around him. It was faint, like the sound of rustling leaves.  
“Please hurry cousin, you must help.”  
The voices were leading him deeper into the forest. After a few minutes Royce realized who was running with him and who the voice belonged too. The Nymphs.  
“Cousins, where are you leading me.” The voice that came from Royce was not his. It was the sound of a running brook, the sound of growing trees, the sound of hooves on the forest floor.  
“Please hurry Cousin, it is starting to tear.” The nymphs were leading him to a circle of giant stones. The party stopped at one of the stones that was emitting a faint blue light. A veil of some sort lay beyond it. A large cat like creature could be seen prowling behind the veil. It turned to face a stunned Royce and roared as it charged through the veil. Royce screamed.

Chase was awakened by the sound of his boyfriend’s ear piercing screams. He had been dreaming a similar dream to Royce’s, only with a much happier ending. Without thinking twice, Chase rushed to Royce’s room fully nude, broke down the door and ran towards the still screaming Caster. Royce’s eyes were wide open in terror and his screaming continued, his voice going hoarse. Not knowing what was wrong, Chase did the only thing he could think of. He hugged Royce close to his chest and kissed him hoping to calm him down. It seemed to work after a few moments. Once Royce started to return the kiss, Chase knew that the boy had awakened. He released the kiss but not the Caster.  
“Love, Are you alright? What happened?” Royce’s eyes started to come into focus, as if he had been asleep the whole time.  
“Stallion?” Royce started to hyperventilate  
“Yeah Love, it’s me. I’m here.” Chase placed gently kisses on Royce’s head and face to soothe the boy. After a few more kisses and gently caresses, Royce appeared to be calming down.  
“Royce, Baby, Love. What happened?”  
“I..I..I need to call.. Stiles.” Royce tried to reach for his cell phone but Chase held on tight.  
“Baby, I just found my boyfriend screaming as if someone was killing him and now you expect me to just let this drop so you can call Stiles. Not gonna happen.” Royce continued to reach for the phone, it starting to move with the barely controlled telekinesis. “Please Royce, let me help.”  
“I need to call Stiles. We’re in danger.”  
“What kind of danger?”  
“It’s coming for it’s cub. He wants his cub back.”  
“Who Baby? Who?” The name that came out was between a gasp and a hoarse whisper.  
“The Questing Beast.” Royce slumped against Chase passed out from exhaustion, the phone dropping to the floor. Chase fitted him and his boyfriend back on the bed, holding Royce protectively to his chest, kissing his head and whispering reassurances with tears filling his eyes. Royce’s magic was primarily from his father’s family, but he did inherit a few talents from his mother. Royce was Fae, not just the magic creature but the ability to glimpse moments of death in his dreams. It was a terrible gift but one that would prove invaluable in the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is there anything me readers would like to see in future chapters or anything they would like me to change?


	27. The next day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience. I swear it will get more exciting from here on out.

Friday mornings usually brought biscuits and gravy, a day to sleep in and the beginning of the last day of the week. This Friday was particularly special since Spring Break started tomorrow. Stiles was super excited because it also meant his first date with Derek, that he did not tell his parents about but somehow Allison and Peter had found out. Stiles would have been super excited for the day had Breanne Colburn not shown up at the door with Royce and Chase in tow about the same time breakfast was starting.  
Ding Ding Ding Dong - Ding Ding Ding Dong  
“I’ll go get that.” Chris offered as Stiles tried to not look at his parents as they stared at him for some imaginary transgression, after all, it wasn’t his fault the doorbell was boring and needed to be fixed. “Victor?! Good morning, how are you? Hows training going?” The warders voice sounded exhausted when he answered/ yawned.  
“Good Morning General. The training is going great. It’s a lot different from what we learned at school but I’m enjoying it.”  
“Good that’s good. It’s a real privilege to be able to work with Night Chaser. He was the first warder in the United States almost all of our practices originated with him. You know…”  
A smooth Southern voice cut him off before he could continue.  
“While that is all lovely to hear Christopher, could you please let us in? We have business with the Governor that needs to be taken care of as soon as humanely possible, also does Claudia have some of that kick-in-the pants juice, both the boys need it.”  
Breanne Colburn promptly walked right past Chris while Royce helped his warder into the house. Stiles had always liked Breanne. Not simply because of her wonderful cooking but because of her sense of humor and complete lack of giving a shit. She was always polite and respectful and courteous as any proper lady from Texas would be but the moment you started to bore her, or agitated her, or annoyed her, she told you exactly that. It was refreshing knowing a Caster who would call you a piece of shit for brains or as Royce often said “You’re just twelve types of stupid today aren’t ya.” It might have been the Fae in her but Breanne was as temperamental as a forest fire and by far Stiles favorite friend’s mom.  
“Good morning Bre, how’s Sam? Would you care for something to eat, we just sat down.” John gave Breanne such a shit eating grin that Stiles almost choked on his biscuits. Allison handed him some juice and a few whacks on the back.  
“It would be my absolute pleasure to join you, my day would not be complete without food poisoning.” Breanne gave her most charming smile and Claudia actually did choke from laughing. John was the one who made the biscuits and gravy and Breanne knew it. She had a nose for these things. “Now let’s be serious,” She turned to Stiles “We need to talk.”

“A what?”  
“A Questin’ Beast.”  
“Which is a what?”  
Royce had explained in vivid detail and with much embarrassed his dream from last night. Chase had fallen asleep on the couch where Royce had set him down since it turns out he hadn’t sleep for fear of what might happened to Royce. Royce had to explain to his mother that no, he and Chase were not having sex (not awake at least), and that Chase was keeping him close because of a dream he had. After Royce had explained his dream (all of it) to both his parents, Sam took off to look at the Standing Stones while Breanne forced some food down the boys throats and drove them over to the Stilinski before school. During his explanation and constant worried looks over at his Warder, Claudia had set down some of her famous juice for when Chase woke up. The entire conversation had left Stiles more than slightly aroused and slightly confused. The bit about the chase gave him some great ideas about him and Derek but he had no idea what the other part was about.  
“It’s a symbol.” Breanne answered, her voice changed from it’s usual southerness to something older and more powerful. “It’s a sign of chaos and ruin and incest. Its appearance will bring devastation to Beacon Hills and anywhere else it’s allowed to roam.”  
“Uh huh. ooookkkay.” nodding Stiles turned to Royce “What is it?”  
“It’s a giant cat/ snake monster that, well, quests. What mom is talking about is the Questing Beast from Wales, the Questing Beast from Arthurian Legends that signalled the destruction of Camelot.”  
“Wait, are you telling us that the thing King Pellinore spent his life hunting is real. That really happened? Camelot was real?” Allison was started to get really excited. She loved this kind of stuff. Stiles just continued to stare blankly at Royce who sighed with understanding.  
“It’s like this Stiles. A Questing Beast is a supernatural monster that literally brings chaos and ruin to cities it travels through, does that make sense?”  
“Yes, yes it does.”  
“So now you understand why this is important?”  
“Yes, yes I do.”  
“Why?”  
“Because this giant kitty thing is going to try and destroy my town, right?”  
“Essentially yes.”  
“But why? That is what doesn’t make sense. Why is it coming here?” Royce just slumped and took a few seconds to compose himself. Stiles was Polish, and thus he didn’t fully grasp that complete and terrible destruction that this meant but Stiles had asked a fair question. Bacon Hills has not the Beast’s intended destination. It was travelling through, which didn’t really matter because the ruin would be the same no matter what.  
“It’s not coming here, it’s coming through here. Beacon Hills is closest to the Standing Stones, and it’s on the way to wherever the Beast is actually going.”  
“Which is where?”  
“to wherever the Beast’s cub is.” Breanne answered solemnly.

(BHCA)  
“I’m sorry my mom and I ruined your morning Stiles.”  
“It’s all cool dude. I should be getting use to the end of the world stuff happening once a week. It’s my job to stop it now.”  
“Still, my mom made you a cinnamon roll to help you feel better.”  
Stiles went at the sweet treat with gusto as Allison drove all four of them to school. She was by the far the safest driver, next to Chase who was still knocked out. School started late on this Friday for the old students as today would be the day the new students would get paired up with their summer advisors so class didn’t actually start until 10:00 am. That was good because the Sheriff and the two adult Casters had spent about two hours discussing what needed to be done and how much the Circle needed to know. Nothing, though, could be set in stone until Sam was able to give a full report on the damage of the Stones.  
“Royce?”  
“Umm?”  
“This might be a weird question and you might not all the details but would there be any difference between this Questing Beast from leaving the Stones compared to say…”  
“Giants feral wolves and one hunky werewolf?” Stiles started to blush slightly.  
Allison grinned at Royce through the rear-view mirror “is there?”  
“Well, yes and no. To make this simple, no because the Questing Beast is a creature of magic and cannot leave the Stones as natural creatures such as werewolves can. On the other hand, since someone managed to get one of it’s cubs through the veil, that means the adults can find the rip that was made and go through that.”  
“Who told you about the giant feral wolves?” Stiles asked nonchalantly, hoping to change the subject. He knew it wasn’t Giselle or Scott, they had both been sworn to secrecy by Dr. Carson.  
“Oh, Roman did.”  
“What?” Allison and Stiles looked at each other before looking back at Royce. Royce just shrugged and motioned to Chase who was starting to wake up.

Roman knew he was in trouble the moment he had been asked to meet Stiles and his friends before school started. He wasn’t entirely sure what he had done but he knew that it was either something colossally stupid or it was a huge misunderstanding, there usually wasn’t anything in between. When he pulled up into the nearly empty parking lot to see Victor Chase looking mildly embarrassed, he knew it was the colossally stupid one.  
“Good Morning Roman, how are you?”  
“I’m great Allison, how are you?”  
“Well, that is yet to be determined. Is there something you would like to share with us?”  
“Nope. not really.”  
“Really? Nothing comes to mind?”  
“Can’t say that it does.” Roman may not be as good as interrogating as Allison but being born into a werewolf family meant he could lie with the best of them.  
“Oh this is so unnecessarily stupid,” Stiles proclaimed in and over exaggerated huff “Roman, who were the giant feral wolves that attacked your cousin and that Allison and I went all Dark Knight and Green Arrow on?”  
Well shit  
“I have no idea what you are talking about?”  
“Oh can it dude, I have it on good authority that you know what’s up and as your governor, I am asking, no telling, no ordering you to cooperate with us on this.” pause “Please.”  
Well double shit, his mom was so gonna kill him.

While Stiles and his group were busy trying to get Roman to spill the beans, the bred Casters were being introduced to their new mentors, or to be more precise Danny and Lydia were meeting their new mentors as Scott had already met his apparently.  
“Hey Lydia, it’s that guy Scott’s talking to the vet?”  
“Why would I know or care? I don’t do pets.”  
“Right but isn’t the vet a member of the Circle?”  
“What!?” Lydia looks up from her tablet (her name hasn’t been called yet) to see Scott McCall talking to Dr. Carson, who was in fact a member of the Circle.  
“That little nerd. How did he get paired up with a member of the Circle, I thought they were off limits?” Danny, unsure of how to respond but familiar enough with angry Lydia to just let her have her way, shrugged.  
“You’re no help.” Seeing one of the faculty, Lydia walks over to her to see what’s up “Excuse me Mrs. Weer?”  
“Ah, Miss Martin, just the girl I was looking for. Your last paper was marvelous and I mean that truly. Few young Casters I know she to have such an understanding of the link being arcane practices and new age wiccan. I was hoping you’d be interested in taking Ancient Mythology and practices next semester.”  
Lydia was delighted at the compliment. The paper hadn’t been assigned but she wanted to show the Honor’s History teacher what she was capable of doing and she had succeeded. Ancient mythology and Practices was a college level class taught by the best magical historians in the country.  
“Why thank you Mrs. Weer, I look forward to the challenge but that was not the reason I stopped you.”  
“I’m sure you’re up to it.” Mrs. Weer was pleased to hear her new student take such an interest in history, “Then what can I help you with Ms. Martin?”  
“I was curious as to why Scott McCall’s new advisor was Dr. Carson. I was under the impression that Circle members were not eligible for membership. If they are, I would like to put my name down as a candidate. I do not think it fair for students to be able to select their mentors simply based off of a minor talent.”  
Mrs. Weer looked over to where Alphonse was talking to Scott. While Lydia was an exceptional student and had the potential for greatness not to mention she made a good argument, she was mistaken about one thing. “Ms. Martin, I do understand your irritation and you’re right, normally, Circle Members would not be eligible for mentorship but this is an exception to the rule.”  
“May I ask why?”  
“Honestly, probably because the Sheriff asked him too.”  
That answer was not what Lydia was expecting but made perfect if she was going to be honest with herself.The Sheriff had the authority to override an decision made by the Circle and It was public knowledge that Melissa McCall and John Stilinski had been friends forever. John must have been worried about Scott no longer being Claudia’s student, so he asked the Healer in the Circle to train him. Damn her parents for being so snobbish as to not make friends with the Stilinskis when the moved here.  
“Very well, thank you Mrs. Weer.” Lydia answered with as much charm as she could muster hearing the news.  
“Oh course dear. You haven’t actually met your mentor have you.”  
“No Ma’am, neither has Danny.” Lydia motioned over to Danny who had been playing games on Lydia’s tablet.  
“Well, let’s just see what we can do about that.” And with that Mrs. Weer was off, pushing and shoving her way through the crowd with her usual briskness.

Lunch was unusually quiet that day. The group, now including an antsy Roman, were sitting around barely touching their food when Scott, Lydia and Danny showed up.  
“Hey guys what’s the problem, did someone die?” Danny asked, feeling the vague uneasy feeling like mosquito bites.  
“Not yet but there are still three hours in the day.” Stiles asked with forced sarcasm. The new arrivals were not buying it. “Oh ignore us, we’ll explain later. How was this morning. “  
Lydia visibly perked up at that.  
“It was wonderful.”  
“Really? I thought it was kinda boring.” Scott responded.  
“Well that’s probably because you already met your mentor.” Scott looked sheepish at that. He had been told not to mention what happened to anyone who wasn’t present at the vet’s that day. “But nevermind that, I have been invited to attend Ancient Mythology and Practices next semester while Danny has been asked to work in the National Archives.” Instead of the congratulations she was expecting, Lydia was surprised to see Royce starting to laugh. “What’s so funny might I ask, these are an honor.”  
“I’m not laughing at you Lydia, I swear, It’s poor Danny.” Allison was also desperately trying not to laugh. Both were failing miserably.  
“What is so bad about the National Archives?” Danny asked, starting to get offended. Royce, through tears of mirth, managed to hold himself together long enough to get out a response.  
“Danny, by any chance is your new mentor last name Orswell?”  
“Well, yes, actually it is, why? is that a bad thing?” Allison burst out laughing, letting out a snort.  
“Oh, Danny, poor sweet Danny. We’ll all miss you when you get sent away for killing Betty.”  
“What is so funny. Do you know Stiles?” Stiles was too busy stuffing his face full of food to answer Danny’s question and glare. Finally Giselle answered.  
“The National Archives are run by a Caster named Laslo Orswell. He’s an extremely talented researcher and spell weaver. He himself is not the problem. These two yuks are laughing about Betty, the horrendously irritating newt who acts as head librarian.”  
“Come one guys, she can’t be that bad?” With that Allison and Royce fell on the floor laughing.  
‘So Lydia, who did you get.”  
“A Marin Morell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the date and we get to find out who planted the real grenades.


	28. The Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the patience. As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.

(Hale House)  
Time moves forward, as it tends to do regardless as to whether you want it to or not, and Saturday had come. As such, Derek Hale, former bad boy and heartbreaker who had left a trail of girls crying in their ice cream the length of the Mississippi River, was having a crisis. The aforementioned first date with one Stiles Stilinski.  
“I’m sorry, what?”  
“How do you woo a guy?” Achilles stared at his son with a look of pure and absolute confusion or as Talia would like to say, his “lifetime movie face”. Derek had come to his father asking for advice for a first date, something he hadn't done since he was 14 and going to his first school dance with a girl named Paige. Now his 20 year old, almost 21 year old, son was asking him for dating advice again. Only to happy to help, Les told him to fire away thinking he could answer any questions. Shots fired and Derek has sunk Les battleship.

“Well, umm, you would…” Obviously this was not what Les had in mind when his son asked for help. He was not going to judge his son, he was a grown man who made his own decisions and was strong enough to stand by them no matter what and Les was proud of him for that. But this, this was not something he ever thought he’d have to know. Now while Les sat there gaping like a fish, other members of the family were there to help.  
“Talk about stuff blowing up.” Cora said between a mouthful of fried chicken and the next, “All guys like to talk about stuff blowing up.”  
“Oooh, you should also wear something that shows off muscles. Gay guys love guys with muscles.” Erica so helpfully pointed out.  
“Don’t bring him flowers. There is nothing more cliche than flowers. Or chocolate. That’s even worse.” Eliza added. Marcus, who was helping bring food to the table looked at his wife questionably.  
“Lizzie, I brought you flowers and chocolate on our first date didn’t I?”  
“That you did dear.”  
“Then what…”  
“I gave my mother the chocolates and the rabbits the flowers. It was sweet thought dear but it’s too overly done.”  
“Then why did you agree to go out with me again?”  
“Because you’re devilishly handsome and were willing to pay, duh.”  
“Oh.” Marcus looked like he didn’t quite know how to handle that. Derek sighed and tried to bring the conversation back to the issue at hand.

“Can were refocus? How do I woo a guy, or more specifically, a guy Caster?” Les dropped the chicken he was eating.  
“A Caster? You’re going on a date with Caster? My son, my light, why would you hurt me like this?”  
“Oh please stop with the drama dad, I’m in real need of some help here. So no flowers or chocolates, then what should I bring him?”  
“Books.” Roman answered while carrying the mash potatoes “Stiles likes books.”

(Stilinski House)  
Why did Stiles wait to the last minute to plan what he was going to wear tonight. He had pushed back the original date from Friday to Saturday to give him more time to prepare but did he use it wisely? No, of course not. He spent all last time with Scott doing Bro things and now he was in deep trouble. He needed expert advice.  
“Stiles why am I here at 11:30 am on a Saturday?” Lydia asked from the bed, playing some game on her tablet while Allison was sharpening her arrows.  
“Because I am in desperate need of help.”  
“Boy, I have been saying that for years.”  
“I meant with my date tonight, not in general.” Stiles huffed and Lydia just gave him a very sarcastic smile. Allison let out a small laugh.  
“Let me rephrase the statement then. Will you, Lydia Martin, queen of fashion and sense and genius beyond compare, please help me, a lowly peasant, plan his very first date with a gorgeous guy?”  
“Cut the eyes out Bambi, I’ll help.” Stiles would have kissed her if she wasn’t pushing him out the door.  
“Umm.”  
“You need to not be in here if I am going to help you. I need to see what kind of damage control I can do to your closet and plan the appropriate shopping trip. Allison, I’m going to need your help.”

(BHCA)  
 _Damn that Glass. He was being so noisy lately. How was anyone suppose to get anything done with that man snooping around like a hound on a trial. Ever since the idiot screwed up the grenade plot, Glass had been on their asses like a mad dog. If it wasn’t bad enough the idiot switched out the wrong grenades, he didn’t even manage to hurt anyone. No, the idiot had to select the class with the Colburn heir. Gods, this was turning into a mess. Now I have to give up my weekends to making sure that Glass doesn’t find anymore clues. The very last thing we need is for any more things to go horribly wrong._

A figure in the traditional outfit of a janitor walked the halls of BHCA Saturday afternoon apparently doing their job and cleaning up the school if anyone came and saw them. If anyone actually paid close attention, they would have noticed the janitor figure wasn’t actually doing the kind of cleaning one would do around a school. They were cleaning up clues. No one was around to notice it or at least that was what they thought, not noticing the small boy with goat horns following them.

_Sure, this wasn’t as bad as to what happened to Meredith, good riddance to bad rubbish. This was all her fault anyways. That girl had a jealous streak the size of the Grand Canyon. It was her stupid idea to go after the Casters in their own school and then she led those bunch of morons and Julius into the woods and looked what happened there. Meredith did not plan this well at all and now it was up to me to fix this before it becomes public knowledge. All of this trouble just so that dumb blonde bitch could show somebody else up. Julius was a fool for dating the girl. I should not even bother helping him anymore. I should wash my hands of his whole endeavor before I get in trouble._

While the figure was having this internal monologue, it entered the gym where the explosion happened looking to see if any of the grenades had been left behind. If the figure could get rid of them and replace them with the practice grenades, maybe it would all look like an accident. That wasn’t a high probability but at this point, the figure was willing to try anything. Having no luck in the gym, the figure moved to Glass’s office hoping for better luck. Finding the door locked, the figure looked around it to see if anyone was coming and seeing no one, pulled out a thin stick from the overalls and tapped the door knob a few times, muttering under it’s breath until the door swung open with a too loud squeak. It flicked on the light to find not the office of a traditional gym teacher but a Army Captain's office. Everything was neat and tidy but nothing was labeled and it was all sealed.

 _Gods and really tiny fishes this was going to be a nightmare_. The figure began trying to find the grenades, unaware of the small boy with goat horns spying on it from behind the bleachers.

(Restaurant)  
After a very hectic day for both boys, Derek and Stiles finally were able to have their date. Derek drove the Camaro to the Stilinski house around 7:00pm to pick up Stiles. Derek was wearing a skin tight vneck wick black slacks and his black sports coat. Walking up to the front door, Derek was rehearsing what he was going to say in greeting only for the door to open for him before he had the chance to knock. Allison Argent was waiting for him in the front room.  
“Evening Derek, don’t you look snazzy tonight. Take a load off for a few minutes, his royal majesty isn’t quite ready yet.” A high pitched scream (which Stiles would later deny with his dying breath) came from upstairs. Derek looked over at Allison who just grinned and motioned towards the couch from his earlier visit. Just as he was sitting down, the Sheriff walked in. Derek immediately rose to his feet.  
“Easy son, no need for that. Take a seat.”  
“Thank you Sheriff.”  
“John.”  
“Beg Pardon.”  
“You can call me John when not on the clock Derek. I don’t mind, I’ve been called worse by my employees.” He gave Derek a wink and laughed. “So Derek, what are your plans for the evening?”  
“Well, we have dinner reservations at 7:30 and then I was planning on taking him to…”  
“Wait.Don’t say anything while I’m here. I want this to be a surprise for him.” Allison quickly ran out of the room with a quizzical werewolf staring after her.  
“Stiles can use Allison to spy on our conversation.”  
“Ah. Can all Casters do that?”  
“Only the ones bound to a warder or telepaths. It’s not a very well known skill but it has it’s uses.”  
“Makes sense.” Pause “Sir, may I ask you something?”  
“Certainly Hale, ask away.”  
“Who badly is tonight going to go?”  
“I can’t make any promises, Stiles is a natural disaster waiting to happen when it comes to proper etiquette. Just be prepared for anything and I do mean that in all it’s forms.”

While the men were talking, Stiles was getting a last minute pep talk from Lydia about if he messed up his new clothes she bought him, he was going to die a slow and painful death. With that, he was allowed to leave his room and join Derek and his father downstairs.

The drive over to the restaurant was pleasant. Derek and Stiles exchanged small talk about the rest of their respective weeks and a few get to know each other questions when Derek pulled in front of a brightly lit building on the edge of a lake.  
“Oh My Gawd, you got reservations at Heaven Sent on a Saturday. How did you?”  
“I know the woman who designed the building.” Derek had promised Jan he’d wash her car for the next month to get it but it was a small favor for getting reservations at the most popular eatery on the West Coast.  
Heaven Sent was a three story building built in the form of a Steamboat on the edge of one of the larger lakes near the town. It was owned by the lovely couple of Ezekiel Beaumont and his lovely wife.  
“Stiles Stilinski is that you boy? Get your skinny white butt up here and give Mama some suga’” Stiles grinned as he jogged up to the Angela Bassett look-a-like on the front porch.  
“Hey Mama Beau, how are you?” Stiles gave the black woman a tight hug that she returned in equal measure.  
“Oh, just fine. Surrounded by the incompetent and dull witted who don’t know a good sense of humor if it hit them in the face with a fish, but fine. And who is this hunk of gorgeous?” Stile had not noticed Derek walking up behind him.  
“Very nice to meet you Mrs. Beaumont, My name is Derek Hale.”  
“Oh, so you’re the boy who got last minute reservations on a Saturday. Good for you.” She gave Derek a tight hug “And please, call me Mama Beau. Mrs. Beaumont is my mother-in-law.” After another tight hug, the woman lead the two boys into the restaurant.

At the table, Derek had pulled out Stiles chair and helped him get seated then sat across from him under the approving eyes of Mama Beau. A young man dressed tuxedo vest and sharp white shirt brought over a trolley with glasses of water and a heaping basket of yellow bread.  
“Now this is my world famous corn bread. I expect you two to either eat it all or bring it home with you. No one has ever left it on the plate.” The way she said it wasn’t conceded, it was a simple fact. “Now for dinner, I have Zeke cooking up something special for you two, and you Mister,” She looked pointedly at Stiles “I don’t care if you’re the New Governor or the Emperor of the World, I expect you to eat all your vegetables or no dessert for you.”  
Stiles gave a humble “Yes Ma’am” which Derek found endearing. Stiles blushing was a good look. Mama Beau smiled and walked to talk to the patrons.  
“She seems nice.”  
“yeah, Mama Beau can be a real doll when she wants to be a also a real terror when you piss her off. She’s got a real mean one two hook and is a better shot than Chris is.”  
“And you know her how? Is she a caster?”  
“Oh no, Zeke and Mama Beau are 100% human. They just happen to be the best Cajun cooks in the country.”  
“So why are they in California?”  
“Because California needed to be freed from the bad food it had and as God as my Witness I will bring them good food.” At the last bit, Stiles dropped his voice to a low Baritone and almost shouted the last bit. A few of the patrons around them lifted their glasses in what looked like agreement. Derek laughed and Stiles joined in, both starting on the delicious corn bread.

After a while, a great bear of a man walked over to the their table followed by three waiters and three trolleys. Derek was amazed at the size of the man. He was almost as big as RJ and looked like he had as much muscle on him as a werebear. His dark red hair and tan complexion spoke of long hours outside, possibly doing manual labor. He gave the boys a wide grin when he saw them.  
“So you’re the reason Cassie had me in such a state in the kitchen. I was thinking it was somebody important and it’s only little Stiles.”  
“Hi Zeke, and it’s Governor Stilinski now.”  
“Psshh, what happened to the little boy who always wanted me to take him crayfishing? Governor, psssh.” The large name, apparently Zeke, ruffled Stiles hair affectionately, careful not to crush the boy’s head in. The man reminded Derek of Dion and found he liked the man.  
“So, who's yer date? Are you gonna introduce me or not?”  
“Oh, I’m sorry sir, My name is Derek Hale, Nice to meet you.”  
“Hale? You Achilles boy then?”  
“Yes sir.”  
“And you’re on a date with Johnny’s boy? Ha, ha ha ha ha.” The large man started a deep booming laugh that shook the near by tables. “Oh, that is a pisser.” Zeke continued to laugh while he served the two men their dinner, two large bowls of what looked to Derek to be soup.  
“It’s Cassiopeia's famous jumbo, with sausage for the big man.” He placed a bowl in front of Derek “And crayfish for the new Governor.” he placed a bowl in front of Stiles. Plates of green vegetables and more bread followed. “Eat up lads, and make sure you leave room for dessert. I’ll be back later young man to make sure you actually ate all your green or as God as my Witness I will make you eat them.” With that, the man called Zeke walked away.  
“Cassiopeia?”  
Stiles looked up from his gumbo. “Oh, that’s Mama Beau’s first name. Cassiopeia Boyd Beaumont.”  
“Boyd, her middle name is Boyd?”  
“I think that’s her maiden name actually.” Stiles continued eating while Derek was in shock. Had he just met Boyd’s mother?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, Stiles asks for Derek's help.


	29. A promise between

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've hit over 10,000 views. Thank you all.

(Heaven Sent)  
It had taken them almost a whole week to locate the boy. A whole week of endless nights of worry and pain and fear. A whole week of Rex taking the boys out night after night, searching the area around the veil looking in a desperate hope to finding him. The whole clan had been on pins and needles,tempers flared, and some tears. The boys refused to admit defeat and the girls were worried for their warders lives. It was maddening, frustrating and terrifying all at the same time. She knew she had to do something, seek outside help but who could be trusted to help the likes of them. The clan argued against it, that they were enough but this last week had proven that they weren’t. She had put her foot down on the matter and they were silent, reluctantly, but they obeyed, they had too, the need was desperate. She had found him after three days of scrying, outside of the shield wall surrounding the town. It was here, at this restaurant by a lake that she would do what none before her had ever done, she would ask the Governor for help.

Stiles was fully enjoying his date with Derek beyond all comprehension. The food was delicious (naturally so) the atmosphere was private enough and cozy and Derek was an excellent listener. Stiles had yet to put his foot in his mouth more than half a dozen times but instead of getting annoyed, Derek seemed to accept it as part of Stiles natural charm (no snickering from the peanut gallery). Derek seemed enthralled about the world of casters and their long and arduous list of etiquette. It was never a good idea to upset someone who could bend the world to their will. In turn, Stiles found out a bit about the Hale pack. He knew both of his parents knew the Hale Pack but aside from that, they were an enigma to the whole town. Sure, as Governor, he had learned about shifter politics and such but it was substantially more riveting actually coming from a shifter than the boring lectures he was given by the Circle. The only bad side was Derek was a Marvel fan (gasps in horror at the mere though, Batman is totally cooler than Iron Man. Please, Black Widow could totally kick cat woman’s ass in a fight and so on). Derek had even given Stiles a gift. Several old books on Werewolf lore and such. One of them was even in Romanian. Stiles couldn’t read Romanian but he was positive he could find a member of the Circle who could. It was about the time dessert came that the evening took a turn.

Cassie had just brought about two servings of her famous beignets (everything she made was famous) when Stiles sense a very powerful presence close by. Derek must have picked up something too as he perked up and stared out the window.  
“That can’t be right.” Stiles heard Derek under his breathe.  
“Dude, what is it?” Derek shook himself and looked at Stiles sheepishly.  
“Sorry, I thought I just heard Royal Enfield Super Meteor.”  
“A what?”  
“It’s a British Motorcycle from the 50’s but to hear one in this great shape is nearly impossible.” Stiles found it kinda ridiculously hot that Derek knew about motorcycles. He remembered Royce talking about how great Chase looked in a leather jacket and the feeling of being on the back of one.  
“That’s an impressive set of ears you have mister.” Derek blushed and tried to ignore the approaching motorcycle. He would love to get a look at it. Stiles grinned and started on his dessert when she spoke.  
“Governor, I request your presence outside if you would.” Stiles tried not to be startled by the presence inside his head. He was never comfortable with telepathy but could usually tell when someone was trying to get inside his head, this was far beyond the skills of the Casters at the school. He didn't even feel whoever this was. They were simply there.  
“Umm, hello. Who is this?”  
“Please Governor, this is quite urgent.”  
“I’m kinda in the middle of a date here.”  
“The wolf may come as well if that would help.” Stiles looked up at Derek who was covered in powdered sugar.  
“Umm Derek, I hate to interrupt our evening but I think I might have Governor stuff to do.”  
“Really?” Derek sounded disappointed and gave a slight pout which as adorable.  
“Yeah, sorry. She said you can come too if you want.”  
“Who said?”  
“Umm, the Caster who's outside waiting for me I’m guessing.”

The entire restaurant watched as Stiles and Derek walked to the front porch. Stiles had assured Cassie and Zeke that he would make sure nothing happened to the restaurant. The other Casters present had offered their services but Stiles had politely decline. He didn’t think this person was a threat or at least that she wasn’t going to attack him. Derek’s night vision showed him the Royal Enfield Super Meteor approaching at a much too casual pace. When it finally arrived, neither Derek nor Stiles were prepared for who they met. The motorcycle was a striking mix or red, orange, yellow and purple. The guy in front got off with all the ease of a large cat. He wore all black, a leather jacket and his hair was styled in a pompadour. He quickly made his way over to the woman sitting on the back, knelled and extended his hand to her as she elegantly slide off the bike. The man rose and taking the woman’s arm, escorted her over to Stiles and Derek. The man’s strut instantly told Stiles what the man was and an idea of who the woman was. The pair walked walked towards the tables at the lake side and Stiles knew he was suppose to follow. He may be the Governor but this woman was much older than he and thus had the right to ask for an audience and at her convenience. Sure , he was nervous walking in an unlighted area with an unknow Caster but Derek was close by and there were enough Casters inside to be of help if needed. When Stiles reached the table, the biker pair turned to face him. The Danny Zuko impersonator gently released the woman’s hand from his arm, bowed and kissed her hand, turned gave Stiles a formal bow and walked over to where Derek had been inspecting the Motorcycle, Stiles asking him not to follow. The woman gave Stiles a respectful curtsey, not too deep but deep enough to show her respect for his position.  
“Greeting Governor. My name is Alice Orleans and I need your help.”

The woman, no Alice, had motioned to the table were the chairs had pulled themselves out for the Casters. Stiles waited for Alice to sit then sat across from her.  
“Nice to meet you Alice. I’m Stiles, or um Governor Stilinski. What can I do for you?”  
“Before i get into the details, I must explain some things.” Stiles noticed Alice’s eyes for the first time. They were the same color as the motorcycle, or probably more precise, the motorcycle was the color of her eyes. The color of a desert sunset.  
“You’re an enchanter aren’t you?” Alice gave Stiles a quick surprised look then a almost sad smile.  
“Yes I am, my lord Spark. I am here on behalf of my clan.” And so Alice told her story. How she and her clan of Nox Casters had been patrolling the Veil when she had sensed the presence of a creature of the Dark in a Van. How her clan had tried to rescue the creature from it’s captors and how they managed to destroy most the them. Alice told them about her shock and outrage of how druids would dare try to remove a creature from beyond the Veil and then and most importantly, she told Stiles about Teddy.  
“Theodore Fitz was.. is the youngest member of my clan. He was the one that actually rescued the Beast before the deranged druid attacked him. He had no defensed against her well and was brutally assaulted. Unfortunately, before I was able to come to his aid, both he and the Beast had been taken by the remaining druids and escaped. In my fury, I must confess, I did not allow the blonde one to escape.” Her tone told Stiles exactly what happened. The girl wasn’t just dead, she had been utterly destroyed and eviscerated.  
“I’m sorry for what happened but I don’t understand what you need me for?”  
“Ah, yes. Hence the reason for my visit. Governor, I request your help in saving and rescuing Theodore form the druids. I understand this might be difficult to understand but you truly are the only person I can ask for help. No Caster would question your actions. Please Governor, I beg you.”

Stiles could tell that it must have been extremely hard for her to come here and ask for help. He may not entirely understand what was going on but this was his job now. His responsibility and Damn it, he was going to do everything he could to rescue this kid. Stiles reached over and grabbed Alice’s hands. The greaser from earlier who had up until now been talking to Derek about bikes suddenly was there at the table with murder in his eyes. He was lifting his hands to knock away Stiles hands from Alice but neither Caster had noticed him.  
“Alice, you have my word as both a Caster, as Governor, and as the son of the Sheriff. I will do everything in my power to help you find and rescue your Teddy.” Alice closed her eyes, trying to stop the tears that had been about to fall and was failing.  
“Thank you Stiles.” And with that, Alice stood up, curtseyed to Stiles and walked towards the bike. The greaser was just standing there, unmoving looking at Stiles with a look of pure incomprehension on his face.  
“Why?”  
Stiles jumped at the voice, not having paid attention to his surroundings.  
“I’m sorry?”  
“Why are you helping us? She’s a Nox Caster, an outcast, a threat.” Stiles looked the greaser straight in the eye, something even grown men were afraid to do most of them time and said.  
“Because she asked and said please.” The greaser nodded at this, gave Stiles a deeper bow than before then followed his mistress back to the bike. Stiles joined Derek and watched the two ride away, Derek not wanting to ruin the moment of seriousness by mentioning the smell of salt water coming from the greaser and the sound of his heart beating with pain and hope. Derek was an older brother himself and understood what the greaser had been feeling.  
“Derek?”  
“Hmm?”  
“I know you’re busy with helping my dad and stuff but I have a favor to ask of you.”  
“Shoot Stiles.”  
“I just promised Alice that I would help her rescue a member of her clan.”  
“Ah.” Derek had been listening to the entire conversation but allowed Stiles to continue.  
“Derek, will you help me keep my promise?” Derek turned to face the boy, a look of seriousness that gave him years of maturity.  
“Stiles, It would be my pleasure.”

(Beacon Hills)  
Isaac had been staring at the letter all evening. He simply could not believe it. He had been accepted to Berkeley for the internship he had applied for. This was more than just an amazing opportunity. This would allow him to his own person for the first time since he had met Danny. Sure being Danny’s boyfriend was amazing and his family had taken Isaac in with no questions but he wanted more than that. He wanted to prove to himself that he was more than the little boy that his father beat everyday. He was more than the skinny kid who was afraid of new people. He wasn’t a Caster, he was supernatural, he was plain and boring but this internship would change that. He could finally be someone who he could be proud of.

Dear Mr. Lahey,  
We are pleased to inform you you have been accepting as a intern for the spring semester at Berkeley's biology department. We hope to hear from you to set up you with your professor. We look forward to helping a bright star like yourself burn even brighter and now you have a bright future here with us.

Isaac hadn’t told anyone about him applying simply because he didn’t think he would get it. Now that he did, he knew what he had to do. He was going to accept and finally, finally have a chance at a future. Now how was he going to tell Danny about this.

(Berkeley).  
Teddy had been locked up in the lab for a few days now and had an understanding of what was going on. It seems that these weren’t actually druids. They were Newts, non-Casters who stole their magic from someone. They blonde girl who had attacked him was dead by Alice’s hand and the gold one, Julius, was her fiance. He wanted to finish whatever she had started which they could not do since they lost a lot of power from losing so many members of their coven. Teddy could sense that none of them had power enough to actually beat him in a fight if he was to get loose but all eight of them together could still hold him here. that was going to be a problem if he was going to escape with the Beast. Teddy looked over to the cage where the Beast had been sleeping all day. The Asian girl, Rin, had given it something to sleep after it had spent all last night crying. Teddy wanted to kick the girl. Whomever they stole their magic from obviously taught them nothing about the dangers of milk and magic. None of the Newts talked to him since that innocent with the Indian. They didn’t ignore him but they didn’t talk to him either. Only Julius ever actually came close enough to give him food and ask questions. Primarily what he was and who the girl was that attacked Meredith. Teddy didn’t answer. Rex taught him not to talk to strangers and he would not disappoint his brother now. He was sure that the clan was looking for him, but tied up as he was and behind a shield, there was no way for them to find him. He would have to escape by himself.

Tonight had been no different than any other night since he was caught. One of the Newts brought him dinner and a new blanket, checked to make sure he didn’t have a fever or anything and then checked on the Beast. Once they had left, teddy scooted over the cage and did his own examination of the Beast.  
“Hey little guy, how are you feeling.” The cub let out a tired sound between a purr and a groan.  
“I know, they keep giving you cow milk in order to keep you quiet. Here try this instead.” Teddy took the piece of chicken they had given him for dinner and slipped it between the bars. the cub seemed to perk up at the smell of meat and slowly moved over to where it laid.Teddy gave a small smile as the cub began to eat. Even with his hands bond like they were, they were still loose enough for him to gently pet the cub as it ate.  
“Don’t worry little guy. I’m here and I won’t let them do anything to hurt you.” The cub preened under the attention it was getting. “I’m going to get you out of this place and back to your parents, alright? I’m gonna make sure you get home.” Teddy knew what the Beast was and he also knew that it’s parents were going to rip apart the Veil in hopes of getting it back. The terror and destruction that would cause chilled him to the bones but he schooled his emotions and continued to gently speak to the creature.  
“Rex, he’s my big brother and the best big brother ever, is probably looking for us right now. He’s probably getting the other guys in the clan to look for us too. Everyone must be so worried. But don’t you worry, I know Alice, she’s our leader and my brother’s charge, will find us. She’s amazing and really powerful. She’s an enchanter.” the cub made a questioning sound and Teddy nodded, “Yep, a real enchanter, like Morgan La Fay and Elaine of the Lake. She’s pretty and really nice and has the prettiest eyes. These guys don’t stand a chance against her.” A noise from the hall outside forced Teddy to go quiet and still. Once it passed, Teddy resumed petting the Beast.  
“I know you’re probably scared but don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” Tears started to well up in the boys eyes at the dark thoughts of not being found or worse. He had lost a lot in his life but he always had Rex, even when he became Alice’s new Warder. The thought of never seeing Rex again caused him to shed tears he knew he couldn't waste. The cub, sensing the distress started to lick Teddy’s hand as if to comfort the boy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have a favor to ask my readers who have Tumblrs if they would be so kind as to write a review for me. I know this is a work in progress but it's something I've always wanted to see.


	30. Girl Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who says strong women can't be princesses?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with me so far. As always, comments, kudos and bookmarks are always appreciated and are awarded with Good Karma Points.

(Stilinski Residence, Sunday)  
If anyone had met Allison Argent on the street, they would have noticed a few things. 1) She is in great physical shape. 2) she is a person who deserves respect. 3) She’s a nice person who could probably break your spine in 10 different ways and 4) she is a warder. Now if you had never met Allison before walking into her bedroom, would would not get any of those impressions.  
“I swear everytime I come in here, you add some more absurdly fluffy thing.” Giselle holds up[ a very round fluffy rainbow unicorn.](http://www.squishable.com/pc/squish_prism_unicorn_15/Big_Animals/Squishable+Prism+Unicorn)  
“Hey don’t make fun of Princess Prism Heart, she was a gift.” Allison says taking back the unicorn and gently placing it back on the shelf Giselle took her from. Allison had several large bookcases filled with stuffed animals all meticulously cleaned and organized. Giselle eyed her with a raised eyebrow while Allison was making sure Princess Prism Heart was comfortable.  
“What?” Allison asked indignantly when she finally stood up “It’s not like you don’t have girly things in your room too. I know for a fact you still have the Pretty Pretty Princess Game and pretend to dress up like one and have tea parties.” Giselle gave her an unimpressed look and motioned towards the shelf Princess Prism Heart and all the other Unicorns lived on as if to say “really, that’s the best you got.”  
“I will never understand your attachment to Unicorns. Have you ever actually met one. They are not what everyone thinks they are.”  
“You say that like you’ve seen them.”  
“I have.” the duh was implied. While most of the legends and myths surrounding unicorns were, let’s say embellished, the legends about the healing capacity of their horns were not. A unicorn horn was the absolute best instrument for performing healing with. Getting them was a nasty business but the rewards far outweighed the dangers.  
“Anyway, why did you call me over. I know it’s not to discuss all things girly and such.” Allison was quiet for a bit before she took a deep breath and answered.  
“What do you know about the Standing Stones?” And Allison told Giselle all that had transpired with Derek and Royce’s dream.

Unsurprisingly, and much to Allison’s mild annoyance, Giselle took everything with a calm and collected demeanor. She didn’t know if it has her Healer’s training to remain calm in any situation or if the girl was really that hard to impress. Finally after Allison had finished and that moved on to an awkward silence, Giselle let out a sigh.  
“Well Crap.” Allison nodded her head in agreement. This was one of those things that there wasn’t much you could say to encompass the whole situation.  
“Dad hasn’t said anything but he has put out a Red Order 13 to the warders just in case. “ Red Order 13 was essentially shit hasn’t hit the fan but shit will hit the fan so be prepared for when shit does hit the fan.  
“That means every Caster with a warder will soon find out that something big and bad is coming to Beacon Hills. I don’t know if the whole Circle knows what’s going on but I know that we know and the Colburn’s know.”  
“And now I know. That's just great. First Royce gets bad dreams, then I’m getting bad dreams now this.”  
“Wait, hold up.” Allison raised her hand to stop Giselle’s potential tirade “What bad dreams have you been having.”  
“Well, I guess bad isn’t the right the right word for it.” Giselle was squeezing her left fist “Allison, did you always know you were going to be Stiles’s warder?”

That threw Allison off. Allison sat down on her bed looking at her friend with wide confused eyes. It had been weird being one of the only Warders at the school who had been bonded to a Caster but Stiles had been selected to be the new Governor when he was ten. She always wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps as a warder and when he became Claudia’s warder when John couldn’t, she knew in her bones that she would be Stiles in time, just as she knew her children would be his children’s warders when the time came.  
“I think I did. I mean dad was Ciotka Claudia’s warder and I just felt that I would be Stiles’s, why?” Giselle sat down at the rolling chair at Allison’s computer desk and looked over at the the shelf of stuffed herbivores (Allison had a shelf for every class of stuffed animal imaginable)  
“ Freshman year, Royce told me that he knew that Victor would be his warder after the first day they met. He couldn't explain why he knew when I asked him but he said that he simply knew.” Giselle gave Allison a half smile “Though I don’t think he knew Victor was interested as well.” The _if you know what I mean_ caused both girls to giggle. After they calmed down Giselle got a distant look in her eyes. Allison could guess what it meant. She, Stiles, and Royce had always been a trio when it came to magic. They all advanced about the same rate, had been in class together for years and seemed to always be in the same place, It was a lot like Harry, Hermione and Ron. But now? Now, both Royce and Stiles had the greatest honor a Caster could have. They both had warders and Giselle did not.  
“Oh Giselle, how hard this must be for you.” Allison thought to herself. “Don’t worry about it too much. There are plenty of potential warders come through the program that would kill to be yours.”  
Giselle startled, not paying attention and looked over to Allison with a slight blush “That’s the thing, I think I know who my warder is suppose to be.”  
“How?”  
“The dreams I’ve been having, They’re all of Siegfried.”  
“The dragon slayer? Wasn’t he a Norse hero?”  
“Right, and I’m Dutch. But it’s the weirdest thing. It’s not like dreams of the stories. I keep seeing him here, in the California.”  
“Giselle”, Allison asked with caution, “Are you trying to say you think your Warder is a 1000 year old hero?”  
Just before Giselle was about to answer, Stiles comes bursting in, tripping over his own feet and almost flying headlong into the shelf of unicorns. Before he can hit, a fluffy cloud of light pink cotton appears before the shelf and cushions Stiles. Allison releases the breath she was holding and smiles over at Giselle who was attempting to help Stiles stand up from his face plant.  
“I swear boy, you are more accident prone than a jinx.”

“Sorry if I interrupted girl time ladies.” Stiles apologizes, walking towards his mom’s office.  
“Don’t worry about it Stiles, you’re free to join girl time whenever you feel like it. We’ll give you a Tiara and a pair of matching shoes too.” Allison comments with a straight face. It would be funny if Stiles didn’t know they would do just that. He was sure Giselle had a Tiara in his size and Allison had a pair of shoes that would fit him. Stupid unmanly tiny feet.  
“Stiles where are we going?”  
“My mom’s workroom.” Stiles continued to walk towards the stairs towards the third floor. Claudia’s workroom was on the top floor in case something caught on fire, then only the roof would burn down instead of the whole house. Allison stopped in her tracks Giselle nearly walked into her.  
“Stiles, why are we going to Ciotka Claudia’s office? Did she ask you to get something?” There was the faintest trace of pleady in her tone, almost like she was hoping this was all an errand.  
“Weeeeellll…. yes and no.”  
‘Stiles.”  
“What, I’m telling the truth. I need to get something and it’s in my mom’s room.” The group made it to the stairs and walked up, Allison with obvious trepidation. On the third floor, Stiles walked over to a large set of double doors outlined in carvings of creatures and what looked like letters.  
“Your mother outlined her door in ruins?” Giselle asked Stiles after examining the doors.  
“Huh, oh no, it came that way.” Stiles are jiggling the handles, trying to figure out how to open them, “She bought them from a Russian wood carver the last time she went to visit my grandparents.Now how to do you...ah....” Stiles pointed his finger at the keyhole and murmured “odsłonić.” (Reveal) A silver key formed in the keyhole and turned and sunk into the keyhole, sending small streams of power along the door, outlining the whole door in silver. One of the doors, the one partner of the one with the keyhole opened slowly. Stiles opened the door the rest of the way and held it opened for the girls.  
“Ladies first.”

“To be honest, I was more expecting more of a Grand witches den.” Giselle commented after getting a look at the room. It looked more like a chemistry professors office than a place of power.  
“Oh, this isn’t where mom does her practices. That’s outside, this is where she does her research.” Giselle nodded to herself.  
“That makes more sense. Don’t put the books where they might caught on fire. Now, what are we looking for.”  
“A really old book.”  
“Wow Stiles, that was extremely helpful.”  
While Stiles and Giselle were looking around the room, Allison was sitting, unmoving in a corner, not touching anything. She never really felt comfortable in this room. Not because of the books but because this is where the Circle met when they came to visit. Who knew what could actually be hidden here. Plus, it was a huge invasion of privacy and was that humming?  
“Stiles, do books usually hum?”  
Stiles looked up to from the floor where he was checking the titles on the bottom shelf and in the direction Allison was sitting.  
“What? What hummi” Stiles heard it, it was faint but definitely there. That was humming, the same humming he heard at his party. He has found it. Well, technically Allison found it but it was found and that was what was important. Stiles carefully moved over to fireplace where the humming was coming from and was getting louder. Allison, not sure what was going to happen, tried to get into a safer position in the chair while Giselle moved behind Stiles. Stiles places his palm towards the back of the fireplace and felt sparks against his skin.  
“It’s been warded but the thing I’m looking for is definitely there.”  
“So break it then and let’s leave.” Allison motioned for Stiles to get on with it.  
“I can’t, this isn’t my mom’s working. I think it might be Bre’s. Let me try and…”

“Oh just move.” Giselle shoved Stiles out of the way, pointed a finger at the logs in the fireplace and in a sing song voice “Kom licht weer naar de waarheid te onthullen” (Come forth light to reveal the truth). The logs ignited with crimson flames, the air in the fireplace expanded outwards and burst with a sound of shattering glass. Stiles gave his friend a thumbs up and reached into the fire, unafraid of getting burned and sent a small wave of power through the back bricks. One of them moved and a very old book moved through the flames and into Stiles hands. In his mind, there was the sound of a woman singing and the feeling of coming home from a long trip.

So how did this thing open? Back in his room, he had sent the last minutes trying to get the book open while Allison and Giselle stared on in boredom. They had all been fairly excited when they first got the book but what good is a book you can’t open. Stiles was getting frustrated when he accidentally cut his finger on one of the exposed pages.  
“krwawe wnętrzności ryb” (Bloody Fish Guts) Stiles screamed and threw the book on the ground. The book opened as it hit the ground and in an elegant handwriting in what had to be Stiles blood wrote  
 **“Pozdrowienia mistrzem.” (Greetings Master)**  
Stiles stared at the book in wide eyed wonder and he was sucking his finger. Master? Did a book just call him master?

Unsure as to what to do next and slightly irritated with Stiles for doing nothing, Giselle moved over to Stiles, pulled his finger from his mouth and squeezed it in her hand. A second later, she released it, completely healed.  
“Stiles, you opened the book.”  
“I did.”  
“Great, do something with it.” Giselle gave Stiles a Gib smack and sat down next to him.  
“What?”  
“Well, you obviously had a plan when you dragged me and Allison into this.” Giselle prompted.  
“Oh, duh, right. Sorry.” Stiles picked up the book and placed it gently on the bed. The book remained open to the page with the greeting with no change. “So, umm how do I use it?”  
Giselle stared at him for a few moments before hitting him in the head again.  
“Seriously, did you not think about this before you decide to get it.”  
“Hey, no hitting.” Tries wrapped his arms around his head, preventing Giselle from hitting him again. “I had no idea that the book was going to go all Tom Riddle’s Diary on me.”  
While the Casters started to argue, Allison moved over to the book and making a wide guess, pricked her finger with her knife from she had strapped to her leg. She placed the blood smeared finger to the page and carefully wrote out. JESTEM ALLISON ( I AM ALLISON). Nothing happened for a few seconds and Allison believed she thought wrong until underneath her sentence in what appeared to be her blood, was  
 **“Pozdrowienia obrońcą.” (Greetings Protector) “Co mogę dla ciebie zrobić dzisiaj?” (What may I do for you today).**  
“Stiles, Stiles, Stiles stop arguing with Giselle and look.” Allison excited pointed towards the book and the writing.  
“How did you do that?”  
“I wrote my name in blood and it responded!”  
“Well that isn’t disturbing or anything but hey, it’s a start. Maybe..” Stiles picked up the book and moved it onto his lap while Giselle healed Allison’s finger.  
“Hi book, can you help me.” Nothing happened.  
“Stiles, I think it only knows Polish.”  
“Oh, well, that makes sense.” Stiles cleared his throat and asked “ Książka, potrzebuję śledzenia pisowni, proszę.” (Book, I need a tracking Spell, please). Stiles could hear the sound of someone singing far away as pages started to turn rapidly until the stopped on a page with a picture of a dog sniffing the ground and across from it written in perfect old timely english A Spelle of Finding the lost.  
“Sweet.”

“A tracking spell. Why do you need a tracking spell. What did you lose.”  
“I’m not the one who lost something, I’m finding it for someone else.”  
“Right, and I’m a duck that was turned into a princess.”  
While Allison was interrogating Stiles as to why he needed a tracking spell, Giselle was looking over the spell itself. It was fairly simply actually. All the Caster needed was an image of the thing lost, a good strong breeze, and a magic circle. Underneath the initial spell was another with the word Alive in blood above it. It was for finding lost people. It was similar but needed something connected to the lost person and  
“Stiles, do you happen to have an extra wolf?” Allison turned and gave Giselle a questioning look while Stiles blushed.  
“Why would Stiles need a wolf?”  
“Apparently he needs one to find a missing person. It looks like it has to be a wolf or something part wolf at least.” Allison slowly turned back towards Stiles with a angry glare on her face.  
“Stiles, is there something you would like to tell me.”  
Stiles burst out into nervous giggles before running towards the door only to be tackled into the closest wall by Allison who put him in a headlock, demanding for the truth while Giselle continued to look over the spell, reaching for Stiles phone and texting the number labeled Princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can anyone guess who Giselle's warder is gonna be?


	31. A Taste of Old Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles and the Girls use the Grimoire for the first time

Stiles had been giving Giselle puppy dog eyes for the last 5 minutes in hopes she would heal the pain in his neck from Allison's headlock and from being shoved into the wall. Giselle wouldn’t, because girl solidarity, and believed that the pain would remind his most excellent majesty not to keep secrets from his warder. Allison had left the room in order to find something to eat because Allison ate when she got angry and to check on her phone that had been going off. It was quite amusing watching Allison glare at Stiles while she stuffed her face primarily because she refused to share with Stiles and he sat there whimpering like a kicked puppy. Or at least that’s what would have normally happened if Stiles wasn’t overly engrossed in his Grimoire.  
“hey Giselle”  
“No Stiles, I’m not healing you.”  
“Wow, thanks for being a real pal.” Giselle gave Stiles a finger gesture that caused his neck to spasm like jello in an earthquake. Stiles tried to hold his head to stop the shaking but it didn’t help. 30 seconds later it stopped with Stiles giving Giselle a “that was totally not called for and I would kick your ass if you weren’t a girl” glare which she returned with a “It totally was and bring it tinkerbell” eyebrow raise. “That wasn’t what I was going to ask, but know it is.” Stiles grimaced as pain shot through his nervous system. “Come over here and look at this.”  
Stiles motioned towards the pages he had been studying since Allison left the room. Giselle walked behind him, looking over his shoulder and pinching the back of his neck. A hot pulse ran through Stiles followed by a cold pulse and he sighed with the relief.  
“What am I looking at here. I don’t read Polish. You know that.” There were no pictures to give any sort of clue either. The only thing Giselle could make out was the title on the left page Magia Stada. Stiles was flipping through the next 5 or so pages but always coming back to what Giselle assumed was the beginning of the spell.  
“So umm… I don’t actually know. I can’t read it either.”  
“Well that’s lovely, why did you ask me to look at it then?”  
“Because of this part.” Stiles pointed to a line of text with the term różdżka kości highlighted in dark red.  
“Ooooookkkkk.”  
“That means Bone wand.” Stiles was starting to get excited and slightly jumping on the bed.  
“Ok?” pause “Wait, like the one you have?” Giselle took the book from Stiles and leafed through the five pages that Stiles had been. The words for bone wand came up about once every couple of lines. Giselle may not have been able to read Polish but she did recognize the complexity of the spell. In fact, this wasn’t a spell at all.  
“Stiles?”  
“Yes?” Stiles answered excitedly. He was grinning like a mad man.  
“Is this what I think it is.”  
“If what you think it is is what I think it is, then yeppers, it is.”  
Giselle closed the book and dropped it on Stiles lap and sat down on the bed next to Stiles. She tried to control the excitement she was feeling at what the book contained. Allison chose that moment to come back into the room with a bag of jerky to see the two casters grinning at each other like they won the lottery.  
“What?”  
“Familiars.” The two Casters said together before breaking out in excitement.

Stiles knew he shouldn’t be procrastinating. There was a lot to do with the potential destruction of the town looming overhead, the arrival of the herds with the Heart in no condition to hold them and helping Alice find Teddy, it was a good thing it was Spring Break. Stiles knew he shouldn’t be procrastinating but he really couldn’t help it. He was just too easily distracted by the Grimoire and all the possibilities and magic it held between its pages. Thankfully, or not depending on whether you were Stiles, there was a very convincing voice of reason in the room with him currently holding the Grimoire hostage.  
“Stiles, you need to focus.”  
“But Alli..”Stiles made grabby hands at the book which was kinda difficult as Allison was sitting on top of him. After the initial freak out about the potential for Familiars, Allison tried to calm the room down by reminding the two that there was important business that had to be taken care of first before Stiles could play with his toys. Giselle, being the brown nosing suck up that she was, calmed down enough to agree with Allison and moved towards Stiles smart board to formulate a plan. Stiles, being the hyper active 5 year old that never listened that he was, refuse to listen to Allison and continued to leaf through the book. This in turn caused Allison to put her foot down in the form of pulling the book out of Stiles lap, causing Stiles to fall out of the bed, and then proceeded to sit on him as he tried to get up, knowing the farthest place from Stiles would be behind him.  
“No But Alli me Mr. Governor, you have a responsibility to uphold and you are going to do just that.”  
Stiles attempted to throw Allison off with a well placed telekinetic throw, not enough to hurt but just enough to get her off and maybe a sore back side, but only ended up convulsing on the floor and a smack to the back of the head from the book. Allison just snorted at the attempt. Stiles knew better but it was worth a try. Casters could not use their own magic to harm their warders. It was a side effect of the bond, in the same way warders could not physically harm their Casters.  
“Fine, let me up so we can start brainstorming.”  
“Only if you promise to behave like an adult.”  
“Fine, agreed.”  
“Stiles.” loomed over him with the book pulled back a bit, ready for another thumping.  
“Alright fine, I promise.” the last word was said with a bit of a spark in the tone. Allison nodded her head and gracefully got up from a pouting Stiles whose own attempt to stand up was less graceful.

After about 30 minutes of attempting to get all the facts on the smart board, Giselle put down the marker thing and looked up. Her way too nice to be print handwriting split the issues and their concerns into three categories with a ranking system on how problematic each issue became the more time that was wasted.  
“The biggest problem we are currently facing is our lack of knowledge about what exactly happened in the Heart.” Stiles explained while looking over the board and spinning in his seat. He had started to draw possible solutions in the air above his head and the silver words sparkled like stars in the noon day sun. So far nothing conclusive had been decided. “We know that the Questing Beasts are looking for their cub and will rip through Beacon Hills to find it.” Nods “and we know that the missing nox is somehow related to the missing cub.” more nods “ but we don’t actually know why the cub was taken in the first place. How can we find it if we know nothing about it’s disappearance? Not to mention what the damage to the Heart will mean for the Herds.” More nods. Stiles had received a formal announcement on Saturday before his date with Derek that the Herds were actually going to late this year, having met with some difficulty regarding an unforeseen issue in Colorado but should be arriving shortly.  
“It seems to me,” Allison started, looking between the board and Stiles’ solutions “Is that the answer to these problems lie in the Standing Stones.” She got out her phone and looked up a number. “Does anyone know what Royce is doing today?”

“Training with his _aunt_.” Giselle responded. Allison looked up from her phone and Stiles stopped spinning. “Royce is training with his _aunt_ to help Chase with his training.” The way Giselle said aunt was a bit strange, like it was a formal title or something. “But you know who might be able to help?” Stiles and Allison shrugged. “Lydia.”  
“While Lydia is amazing and brilliant, how can she be of help in this?”  
“Easy, she can ask find out all we need to know from her new mentor.” The light bulbs went off as Lydia’s mentor was mentioned.

While Allison was on the phone with Lydia debriefing her on what they had come up with, Stiles was a sneaky sneak and reached for the Grimoire. Allison’s foot promptly met with Stiles hand pinning it to the book. Stiles made overly exaggerated pain faces to show how much pain he was in which of course did not impress the warder.  
“Thanks Lyds. We’ll come up with a plan tomorrow. Yeah, can’t wait, have to go. Kisses.” Allison hung up Stiles’ phone “What are you doing?”  
“Oh come on, I did what I promised. We can’t actually do anything until we get more information and talk to the whole group.” The whole group meaning a bunch of high school age Casters and not the Circle. Stiles was trying to be a responsible Governor and not ask for help. “Please can I try 1 spell. PLEEEEEEASE? With sugar and ice cream and chocolate and sprinkles and fudge.” Allison thought for a moment and nodded her head.  
“Fine, one spell.”  
“Yes.” fist pump.  
“If Giselle gets to too.”  
“Huh.”

Stiles was fairly certain that Allison enjoyed making him a sad puppy.( I swear to whatever power will listen if you call yourself that again, I will turn you into a cat. But I’m allergic to cats. Exactly).  
It wasn’t that he was particularly upset about letting Giselle have a turn using the Grimoire, it was that she was getting to go first (Why? Because a gentleman always lets a lady go first. You aren’t a lady. And you aren’t a gentleman. Behave children. Remember Stiles Sharing is caring and…. grumbles it can be fun). Despite the fact Stiles had to wait his turn with his own present, he was very eager to see what kind of magic Giselle was going to try. No one had any idea what spells we hidden in the pages of the old book. The three trooped outside into the massive garden / backyard / forest away from the house incase something went awry. Once they were a safe enough distance away, Stiles handed the book to Giselle which then opened to a spell by itself.  
What does it say?” Giselle didn’t answer right away but walked over to a nearby patch of flowers. She collected four petals of various colors then motioned for the book. It flew to her and hung in midair while Giselle looked over the spell. Nodding her head in understanding, Giselle turned to face the direction of the sun and lifted her cupped hands with the petals directly in the path of the sunlight and recited.

 _“Oh Blessed Shining Star that dwells within the sky, let your light create the path that all things must travel. Let your radiance be the compass that guides all life_.” As Giselle recited the spell, ribbons of pale sunlight appeared and gently wrapped around her hands like a present. Giselle brought her cupped hands to her mouth and whispered “ _Oh Blessed Breath of Life that dwells with this host, let your presence be shared among all those who walk the path of life.”_ Giselle carefully exhaled a slow breathe into her cupped hands. The ribbons of light glowed and were absorbed into Giselles hands. _“With these gifts, Awaken now and come forth New life.”_ With that, Giselle walked over to Allison and Stiles and opened her cupped hands. Inside was a beautiful butterfly with flower petal wings.

Stiles and Allison applauded and Giselle gave a small curtsy. The butterfly flew towards the flowers it was created from, a trail of golden dust trailing it, to start it’s new life.  
“My turn, my turn.” Stiles clapped his hands twice and the book flew to him, presenting itself like a hound before it’s master. Unlike Giselle, Stiles actually got to pick his spell but the book did offer a suggestion and leafed through itself to a page with a picture of witch looking in a mirror and a man looking back. Stiles shook his head and the pages turned to another picture with man and a rabbit next to each other. Stiles shook his head again and the pages turned towards a spell that caused Stiles to grin. He moved over to where a small puddle water nestled in the roots of a very tall tree. Stiles looked over the spell again as the book had followed him. Stiles’s grin grew wider.  
“Allison, may I steal a hair from you?”  
“Excuse me?”  
“A hair.” Stiles pointed towards his head.  
“ I understand what hair is Stiles, why do you need one of mine?” Allison returned.  
“Please, it will make sense in a little bit.”  
“Fine” Allison plucked a hair before Stiles could start to whine. She walked over to the puddle and handed it to him and started to walk back to Giselle.  
“Wait, you’ll want to be over here.” Allison stopped and turned to face Stiles with her hands crossed over her chest as Stiles squatted down and gently placed the girl’s hair in the puddle. With his pointer finger on his right hand, he started to make small circles in the water around the hair and chanted.  
“ _With this lock of fair maiden’s hair, I ask you now to appear. From farthest place where all men dwell, through meadows and forest be it treacherous or fair. Let him come to me, be he noble or nought, to tame thy heart with and save thee from despair.”_ Stiles continued to make circles in the water until Allison’s hair glowed a bright white and spread across the whole puddle. The water then geysered up to take the shape of a man who looked vaguely familiar to Allison. She stepped forward and took a closer look at the silhouette. She stepped up to it to get a closer look at it’s face, a name on the tip of her tongue when the water man collapsed and soaked Allison through. Wiping the water from her face, she turned to Stiles who was grinning like a fool.  
“And what was that exactly?” She asked incredulously.  
“That, Princess, was your prince. Or at least I hope it was. Too bad the conditions weren’t right to get a better picture but hey now we know that there is in fact someone out there for you.” Stiles managed to avoid the first rock but not the second. After Giselle had healed Stiles lump, muttering about how he couldn’t even avoid a rock that was tossed at him, Stiles and Giselle called forth fire into their hands and dried off Allison. After she was sufficiently dry enough not to track water all over the house, the three trooped off towards the house, excited about what they had managed today. It may have been simple but is was more advanced than they were familiar with.

“What are the conditions?” Stiles looked over at Allison who was blushing and clenching her teeth.  
“What are the proper conditions?”  
“For?” Allison blushed harder and clenched her fist and used her head to motion towards the puddle, either too embarrassed or annoyed to say what she wanted. Thankfully, Stiles wasn't completely obvious, this time.  
“OH, oh. Ummm.” Stiles flipped through the pages until he found the spell “it says here that we need a lake on a moonless night and you need to be in the water singing.”  
“Singing what?”  
“The spell probably.”  
“But I’m not a Caster.”  
“don’t worry. I’ll supply the juice if you want to try the full version later.” Stiles shit eating grin would have split his face right in half.  
“Ha ha, very funny.” Allison may have been acting like she didn’t care but Stiles knew better. After All, who wouldn’t want to know who their other half was. Not everyone could be as lucky as Royce in that matter. It didn’t take The Sight to see that those two would be together for always and forever. The string of fate was wrapped tight enough to choke them. Stiles would have used his own hair in the spell, but it was especially for girls. There was no version for boys. At least none he could find. Maybe if he turned into a girl it would work. Stiles was broken out of his contemplation by his father standing in the front door, looking very severe, with the Danny Zuko look alike standing a little ways behind him.  
“Let me guess, you didn’t tell your parents either.” Stiles silence was answer enough.  
“Stiles,” John was using his Sheriff Voice, quiet, steady, controlled, but with a hint of real threat in it “This young man says he is here to drop something off to help in your search. Could you please explain what he means by that.”


	32. Magic Lists

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I did not post a chapter last week. I had my first exams for Pharmacy school and it was a hellish week.  
> This is a list of the Main characters magic abilities and skills.  
> A new chapter will be up soon.  
> Any and all suggestions to magic are appreciated

Stiles - elemental magic (all elements), teleportation, transfiguration, wand magic, True Sight, witchcraft, telekinesis 

Giselle - Fire magic, light magic, Healing, living magic, telekinesis, empathy, transfiguration, flight, wilding speech, regeneration, Hymn singer

Royce - water magic, earth magic, warding, shielding, Earth Speaking, Faye sight, secret keeping, telekinesis, Shamanism, invulnerability 

Scott - nature magic, empathy, healing, animal speaking, truth seeking

Lydia - wind magic, empathy, emotion manipulation, death screech, death sight, immunity, flight, 

Danny - light magic, metal magic, techokinesis, mind hacking, photographic memory, tracking magic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If my readers are getting bored with all the mundane chapters, please say so. I swear things are going to pick up. Unfortunately world building and all the other boring reads are needed or else things won't make sense later.


	33. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me for so long. As always, kudos, views and comments are appreciated.

Chapter 31  
(Hale Residence, Sunday)  
Cora wasn’t entirely sure how she was feeling at the moment. Ever since the confrontation / MMA fight between her mom and Jan, the whole house had been on edge. Apparently, according to Olivia, Talia had been lying to the whole family for the last few decades or so about something to do with other werewolves. As far as Cora knew, her family were the only werewolves near Beacon Hills. She should have been ecstatic about the presence of another pack in the area it is wasn’t for the very tense atmosphere and everyone walking on eggshells. Blood should not fight blood. While there may be a temporary truce, things were far from peaceful, except for Derek. he was practically walking on clouds the whole time and had been smiling like a loon (how do loons smile, they don’t have lips, hey focus brain) since saturday. His happiness has so extreme, it was actually managing to equal the amount of dread filling the house. Hence, the strange state Cora found herself in. This was of course throwing her off her game.  
Thump  
“Owww.”  
“Come Cor, focus, you’re letting a blonde beat you.” Erica gave Marcus the bird over her shoulder. That had been the third time in a row Erica had managed to throw her. Usually it was the over way around.  
“Hey Assbutt, why don’t you shove it where the sun don’t shine.”  
“Language young pup.” Erica flipped him off twice which he only chuckled at. She looked down at her opponent.  
“You ok?”  
“I’m just peachy. I just love flying through the air like a sack of potatoes.”  
Erica offered her hand to help Cora up.  
“Seriously though, you tend to do so much better than this. What’s the problem. Is it your period?” Marcus spit out the bear he had started to drink and looked horrified at the two girls.  
“Really? Do you have to say that? We have code words for a reason!”  
Both girls rolled their eyes at the man. Code words? It was Achilles idea since he couldn’t smell when the young ladies of his house were bleeding. The men had picked up on the habit, well except for Dion who called it like it was. He liked to watch his brothers squirm when he said it. There was a reason he and Jan worked so well together.  
“Fine. Is it Shark Week?”  
“No, it’s not shark week. I already had it.” More spitting for Marcus.  
“Then what’s up my sista.”  
Right then Derek came out of the house surrounded by the youngest members of the pack, playing Stalk the Moose. Derek was apparently the moose. He pretended to fall under the extremely adorable “attacks” of the pups and fell to the ground laughing where there was a huge puppy pile of shrieking puppies being tickled by Derek. Cora thumbed over her shoulder.  
“That is.”  
“Ah.”  
Inside, Derek’s phone was going off. A picture of Stiles coming up.

(Colburn Residence)  
As a warder and kinda sorta almost but not quite future husband to a Caster, Victor had been prepared for rather strange things in his life. His mother had warned him that he might have trouble grasping some of the complexities that come along with being bonded. Hells Bells, he spent most of the last week all but naked, running around in the woods with his Casters Uncle. He had thought that he was prepared for almost anything weird. That, unfortunately, did not prepare him for embarrassing himself.  
“Hey baby, could you start me a bath, today was really intense.” Chase walked through the double doors of the Colburn estate. Where the Stilinski’s house was a Victorian manor, the Colburn’s lived in a plantation house straight from the Civil War. How they managed to get a Civil War plantation to California was anybody’s guess. Chase was not really paying attention to his surroundings and continued through the first floor in nothing but a loincloth (more like a jock strap made out of leather)  
“And since I know how you like my manly smell, maybe you could join me.”  
“While I might not be able to run you a bath, it would be my absolute pleasure to join you.”  
Chase froze halfway to the stairs. That was not Royce’s voice. In fact, that wasn’t Breanne’s voice either. Chase slowly turned around to meet the most attractive woman he had ever seen sitting and reading.

The girl (no lady. There is no way she’s just a girl) gave him an approving smile. It was only then did Chase realize he wasn’t wearing much of anything.  
“Chase, Stallion? Is that you?” Royce’s voice came from the second floor. Walking down the stairs in one of Chase’s too big for him shirts (that made Chase’s He-man self grin with manly pride and a twinge of lust) to greet his warder with a kiss. Right before he was about to kiss Chase, Royce tensed and a blue glow surrounded him. Chase jumped straight into a defensive position between Royce and the woman, a tomahawk in his hand, ready to lunge or defend as necessary. The woman moved her smile from Chase to Royce. The two Casters locked gazes and the woman spoke first.  
“Greeting Son of the Sgiathadair. Please forgive the intrusion. I am waiting here for my warder who has business in town. I mean no harm to you, your family, or your town.”  
Royce continued to gaze. Not rudely but watching her every movement.  
“Meaning you can release the water now. There’s no need to destroy perfectly good plumbing on my account.”  
Royce released a deep breathe and the sound of water rushing through pipes could be heard. The woman took a looked over towards the vases of flowers situated around the room. Her smiled that approving smile of her’s again.  
“It is always good to see a Caster who is as willing to protect his warder as his warder is to protect him.”  
Chase gave a quick look over at his boyfriend, the faint blue glow still surrounding him. Royce finally spoke, a faint quiver to his voice.  
“I welcome you to my home Matron of Night. May you find peace and comfort under my roof. I apologize for my rudeness earlier, would you care for some tea and snacks.”  
“Thank You, I willing accept your hospitality.”  
Chase stayed in the room with the other Caster as Royce went to bring back tea and snacks. The faint blue glow never leaving him. Chase gave the woman a hopefully fierce protective glare. She smiled, looking around the house, almost every wall having a bookcase stuffed to the breaking point. She walked over to the one closest to her to return the book she had been reading.  
“How did you get in here?” The woman turned to him, sunset colored eyes staring into his whole being. Chase was proud he didn’t flinch. Instead of answering the question, the woman turned her attention to a mirror right above one of the sofas. She turned back to Chase with an a mischievous glint in her eye. Royce returned a moment later, a silver tray with three porcelain cups, a plate filled with baked goods, a porcelain tea pot and a small bowl of sugar and a small pot of milk and honey.  
“I’ll have to inform dad that the spell on the mirrors needs replacing.” Royce placed the tray on the small table in front of where the woman had been sitting earlier.  
“I do apologize for breaking them, but It was really the only way in.” She gave a small nod of thanks as Royce poured the tea. It was a deep rich red color. It smelled of autumn.  
“Applewood tea. How delightful and I’m guessing,” the woman took one of the scones and bit into it, a small moan escaping her lips, “Sarah’s strawberry scones. Your grandmother would be proud Royce. A perfect gentleman. She taught you well.”  
“Thank you Alice, I appreciate it.” A small smile crossed his lips.  
Chase took that moment to stand behind Royce, a hand gently stroking the side of his neck and shoulder.

The woman, Alice Royce called her, looked up and blushed.  
“How rude of me. Here I am inviting myself into your home and not giving you the chance to greet your man properly. Please, don’t mind me.” Alice politely turned away with a hand motion to go ahead. She didn’t have to tell Chase twice. He helped Royce stand up and drew his close, one arm circling the shorter males’ waist and the other gently placed under his face drawing him up.  
“I’m home Baby”  
“Welcome Home Stallion.”  
Royce circled Chase’s neck and the two kissed each other with all the passion of reunited lovers. Neither male noticed the faint golden aura surrounding Alice, her magic reacting to the love and passion between the two. It filled her, more so than any amount of scones could. She smiled to herself. If this is how they kissed, then the actual sex was going to be glorious. She took a pen and piece of paper that were lying on the table and started to write suggestions for the two lovers. She was curious as to what the bath later would be like.

(Stilinski House)  
Stiles knew he was in trouble. Not the normal kind of trouble he accidently got himself in since you know he kinda agreed to help these people. No, this kind of trouble was different. He was in trouble for making his parents fight. They never fought.  
“What were you thinking Bronisław? Hmm. I’ll tell you what, you weren’t, you weren’t thinking.” His father seethed. Stiles gulped. He tried to answer but no words would escape his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. Thankfully, his mother seemed to know what he was trying to say.  
“His is doing what he thinks is right John. You of all people should be proud of him for this.”  
“Proud!” John roared. Like actually roared. “you want me to be proud of this..this..this.” John could not exactly articulate what this was but the hand waving (Stiles got that from watching John) indicated he was anything but. Stiles stepped back at the anger but Claudia stepped forward.  
“You will lower your tone with me, my husband, and you will not roar at your governor like that again. Is that understood.” The quiet of her voice contradicted the silvery fire that filled her tone. John looked stunned. Both at his own actions and that of his wife’s.  
“Bronisław is no longer the child that comes running to you every time he saw shadows in his windows. He has a responsibility to help and protect all who live under him and that includes, “She motioned to the greaser who was sitting between Chris and Peter in the kitchen “The Nox.”  
“But Claudia.”  
“No Johnathan. No buts. This is his decision and you will respect that. I do not care whether you think it wrong or right. It is his decision and you will help him as is your responsibility, nay, duty as Sheriff. Do I make myself clear husband.” She turned on Stiles not giving time for JOhn to respond.  
“And you young man have some explaining to do.”  
“I sorta thought I already had.”  
“Yes, after Mr..” Claudia waved her hand in the direction of the greaser and he responded “Rex Ma’am.”  
“Rex here showed up at our house.” Claudia took a step towards Stiles. “Did it not occur to you to tell us this as soon as it happened instead of us finding out on our own. Garden Seed, boy, use your head.” Claudia made a swiping motion and Stiles felt like he had been hit in the head by a cane. Before his mother could hit him again, Stiles made a sign as if to block a hit and Claudia’s blow hit the wall instead. Using his formal speaking voice, respectful but forceful,  
“Matka, ojciec, I am sorry for not telling you about my agreement with Alice but as far as I can see, it really was none of your business.” John looked liked he was about to blow up again but Claudia signed for him to hold his peace.  
“Explain your reasoning.” Stiles took a deep breathe in and slowly exhaled.

“Alice came to me on my date with Derek. She asked for my help, not the help of the circle. She knew the risks she was taking by coming that close to the barrier but she still did it. She risked that because she knew that I was the best and only hope she had of finding her clansman. Out of my respect for her situation and her position, I agreed. Not because I am Governor but because it was the right thing to do. Ojciec,” Stiles faced John, “You taught me to always try and help people no matter what it may cost me. Matka, you taught me that those with the power to do good should always strive to help those in need. My helping Alice is not some stupid rebellion of authority or me trying to do things out of my league. It is me being the man who both raised me to be. Yes, she is a Nox, Yes, she is dangerous, and yes, it might be over my head, but I refuse to allow such reasons from stopping me from fulfilling my promise to her. You have a right to be angry with me but you have no “ Stiles punctuated the word with a slash through the air that left a silver after image “right to stop me based on that.”

The room remained quiet after Stiles finished. An air of trepidation a little stifling when John finally spoke.  
“Valid.”  
“Agreed.” Claudia said.  
“Thank you.” Stiles released the tension that had built up during his speech. “Now if will excuse us, I believe that Rex and I have things to discuss.” Rex left his sit and walked over to Stiles who was heading to his room. Once he reached the stairs, he turned back to the adults and asked “May I inquire when you were going to tell me about the druid cadre?” Claudia blanched and John looked a bit sheepish. “Uh huh, that’s what I thought. Excuse us will you.”  
Stiles lead Rex to his room where Allison had been sitting on the bed with Stiles’s phone in her lap. Giselle had graciously excused herself before the yelling had started with promises to bring Royce up to date on the situation. Rex, recognizing Allison as Stiles’s warder, gave her a polite and crisp salute. Allison returned the gesture just as crisply. Rex then address Stiles in a manner completely contrary to his dress.  
“I must admit my surprise Governor. I did not anticipate getting you in trouble nor the smoothness in which you handled yourself.”  
“Hmmm,?”  
“I beg pardon sir but you don’t ummm.”  
“Look like I should know what I’m doing. Don’t let the fancy talk fool you dude, I have no idea what I’m doing. In fact, I’m totally surprised my dad didn’t take me over his knee right there in the sitting room.”  
“Then may I ask…”  
“It’s all those damn elocution lessons. They’re finally paying off.” Stiles gave Allison a high five. Rex gave the two of them a rather a small chuckle before reaching into his jacket.  
“If we may continue, I do not wish to leave My Lady for too long. I am afraid of what her presence will do to those she has chosen to stay with while I am here.”  
“Who would that be?” Allison inquired.  
“The Sgiathadair.”  
“Uh huh, and why should that be a problem?”  
“It is my understanding that the heir and his warder are, umm, romantically involved and the presence of an enchanter may cause them to act on, umm, their increased passion.”  
“Dude, if you’re worried about Royce jumping Chase’s bones, have no fear. I can guarantee you there is a much more powerful force preventing that than any influence an enchanter could have.”  
“I doubt that very much sir.”  
“Ahh.” Stiles shakes his finger in Rex face “That is because you’ve never met Sam Colburn.”  
Rex turns to Allison with a question look as if that should mean something. Her solemn nod back was all got but he understand it all the same.  
“Now then, what brings you to Casa De Stilinski.”  
“My lady told me that you would need something of great value to a person in order to track them.” Stiles remembering the spell in the Grimoire nodded. “Teddy didn’t have much in terms of things that would be useful but he did - does have one thing.” Rex pulls out a small white worn out teddy bear.


	34. Monday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading and sticking with me, we are at the last stretch.

Chapter 32  
(Berkeley University, Monday)  
Mondays were special for Isaac. He had been born on a Monday, his mom had died on a Monday. His dad went to jail on a Monday. He met Danny on a Monday. He moved in with Danny on a Monday. Mondays always seemed to be days that were life changing for Isaac and this Monday would continue the pattern. Today was Isaac’s first official day as an intern at one of America’s top universities. He was so excited that he could barely sleep the previous night. Danny had started his mentoring on Friday and was pretty wrapped up in so he didn’t really pay attention to Isaac all weekend. Normally, this would set off the blonde’s defenses but Isaac had been preparing to make a good first impression so he hadn’t paid attention to Danny either. Hopefully this internship wouldn’t put a strain on their relationship, that’s the last thing Isaac wanted but he also wanted to be independent. He wanted to be able to do things without Danny there looking over his shoulder. He needed to be able to be his own man and this was the first step in what Isaac hoped was the right direction.

Isaac didn’t know what to expect from the professor but this was certainly not it. Standing in front of Isaac was a very tall, very muscular black dude who looked like he could bench press Isaac. Remembering his manners, Isaac stuck out a trembling hand. He wasn’t sure if the trembling was from nerves or fear but he tried to stop them unsuccessfully.  
“Ummm, Hello. My name is Isaac Lahey. Nice to meet you.” The tall black dude took Isaac’s hand in his great paw and shook it (My god, it’s huge. He could crush my head with that). Isaac was so engrossed with the dude’s hand he hadn’t heard the other guys name.  
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that.” The tall dude gave a deep chuckle.  
“Boyd. Nice to meet you Isaac.” The dude’s hand were gently and warm. it reminded Isaac of Danny’s. This was someone who was use to protecting people smaller than him.  
“Nice to meet you professor Boyd.”  
“Oh, I’m not..”  
“Good Morning Vernon. Good to see you on time today.” Isaac was startled by the voice behind him. He turned to meet the gaze of a rather impressive looking man with gold blonde hair and a perfect figure except for his missing right arm.  
“Good morning Julius. I was just introducing myself to Professor Nicely new intern and I am always on time, it’s your friends that are always late.” Boyd’s voice was polite but something was underneath it, not anger but something similar. Hostility perhaps. As a child from an abusive home, Isaac was very good at reading body language and tone.  
The man called Julius turned to Isaac and gave him a classic Hollywood grin, perfect white teeth and everything. He stuck out his left hand for Isaac to shake. Isaac took it hesitantly and was met with what Danny’s father called an “Alpha Male throttle.”  
“Nice to meet you Isaac. Professor Nicely is expecting us in the lab. I’m here to show you the way.”  
“Thank you.” Isaac wasn’t sure why but Julius set off an alarm in his head. Not a red alarm, but more like a caution alarm. As Julius turned around and motioned Isaac to follow him, Isaac caught of glimpse at Boyd. His eyes were an electric blue for a split second before turning back to brown. Isaac may not have been a Caster but he had lived in Beacon Hills long enough to recognize a shifter. Nope, not what he was expecting at all.

There were four other people in the lab as well as the man Isaac assumed to be Professor Nicely. He was a slightly pudgy man with absurdly curly hair that made Isaac’s look tamed in comparison. He had the busiest mustache Isaac had ever seen but his face spoke of years of laughing and smiling. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt with dress khaki dress shorts, multi colored socks with what appeared to be the brightest colored yellow crocs that possibly existed ever. SLightly horrified at the professor’s dress, Isaac prepared himself to introduce himself when the man walked up to him and gave him a bear hug. The man was about Isaac’s height but was able to pick him off the ground.  
“Welcome, welcome, welcome. You must be Isaac Lahey. I’m Professor Charles Nicely but you can call me Chip if you want.”  
Stunned by the affection and oddly touched by the affection, Isaac cautiously returned the hug. Professor Nicely but him down and turned to face the other what had to be interns or assistants.  
“You’ve already met Julius but let me introduce you to the other explorers of the wonders of science. This is Rin Sai Chow.” A tall willow Asian girl waved, “Marcy Duke” a rather short girl with red hair and freckles “Augustus Florence” A surprising buff guy with both arms covered with tattoos and neon green spiky hair, and finally “Jacob Pearce” a young man close to Isaac’s age who looked like as nervous as Isaac felt. Professor Nicely turned to the group, “I want all of you to show Isaac the ropes and be nice to him. If all goes well, he’ll be joining us in a few years.” Turning back to Isaac, he gave a wide smile “Reay Boyd. Today’s a big day for you.” Isaac hadn’t even realized that the dude called Boyd was standing behind him until he spoke.  
“I’m as ready as you are Chip.” The man clapped his hands in excitement and with a few final words, walked into the lab. As Boyd followed, he patted Isaac on the shoulder and leaned down to whisper in his ear.  
“Be careful of them. They smell of deceit.” Isaac gave the barest of nods and watched Boyd enter the lab after Professor Nicely.  
“Well then everyone, why don’t we show Isaac here what he’ll be doing for the next few weeks.” Julius said and all but Augustus followed right away. The tattooed man was watching Julius with an intense stare. There was something close to distrust in those eyes.  
“What have I walked into?”

Boyd had followed Chip through the entire lab before stopping in front of what looked like an ordinary storage closet. Chip turned to Boyd with fierce excitement in his eyes.  
“Are you ready Vernon. Today is a big step forward for us. We could not have gotten this far without you.” Boyd gave the shorter man a small smile. The man was just like one of the pups getting excited over something new. He nodded and Chip grinned and turned to face the door. He knocked three times, waited, knocked three time, waited and then tapped both sides. One of the doors opened and Boyd entered, Chip giving him a thumbs up before closing the door after him. Boyd found himself in a very dark large room filled with glass orbs filled with various liquids and what had to be ingredients floating about and the ceiling was covered with what looked like stars. Boyd looked up to see if he could recognize any constellations of anything in the glass orbs. He couldn’t and wasn’t the least bit surprised. As he continued to gaze, something rubbed up against his leg and almost subconsciously, Boyd began rubbing the furry head.  
“Good morning Father Hale.” The large red wolf gave a greeting bark and licked Boyd’s hand. From above, a small collection of empty glass orbs surrounded the man and wolf and a woman who looked exactly like Giselle in 10 years and with sunshine colored hair appeared. “Good Morning Wizard Carson.”  
“Good Morning Beta Boyd, are you ready.”  
“Yes Ma’am.”  
“Excellent. I hope to start off where we ended last time.” Boyd nodded and lifted one finger. A glass orb encased it and with with what felt like a tug, began filling up with Boyd’s blood. After it was filled, it released Boyd. The wolf at Boyd’s feet gave a pained whine, upset at seeing his pack member hurt. Boyd smiled and stroked the wolf’s head.  
“Don’t worry sir, I’m fine. I’m doing this for the pack so don’t be sad.” Boyd may not know exactly what was going on but he believed in what Wizard Carson was doing. As the only male member of the Hale pack that was bitten into the family, he was the only one who could help find a way to turn Derek’s grandfather back into a man after he went feral. If they were successful, they might be able to turn the other feral wolves back into people one day.

(Colburn House)  
Despite years of friendship and having trained together for years, John Stilinski would always be in awe of Sam Colburn. Not because he was one of the few male Casters in the Circle, not because he somehow managed to be married to a fairy born witch for over half a century, and not because he was the current head and leader of the oldest magical security force in the country, and not because his only son’s boyfriend was bonded to said son for life and living in his house, but because of the man’s amazing ability to handle pretty much any situation with an almost divine amount of patience. After yesterday’s incident with the Nox, John and Claudia had decided that Stiles was going to dive head first into this mess no matter what and they both decide that they had to let him no matter what the consequences. He was the Governor now and he was able to make those decisions. It irritated John to no end but he couldn’t do much. On the other hand, he could with with the other problems facing the town, primarily the giant cat thing that was apparently going to destroy them all. John had headed over to the Colburn’s in hopes of getting some sort of plan underway. That was the plan when he started at least.  
“Can you believe him. He doesn’t use the brain God gave him. He’s suppose to be so smart and he does something like this. Not even Governor for a month and he’s already putting his life in danger. And what makes this worse, Cluade agrees with him. Sure she’s upset about him not telling us immediately, but she still agrees that he should do this. He gave his word, John, he can’t back out now.’ John’s imitation of his wife was crude but he wasn’t going for accuracy. Sam continued to sit there as his friend paced back and forth in one of the sitting rooms, occasionally taking a sip of the mug Sam handed to him. Eventually John ran out of things to be upset about and angrily sat down in one of the way too comfy to be antique chairs.  
“Are you finished Johnny?” Sam asked, his voice a deep rumble yet smooth like dark molasse, his tone sympathetic. John just huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.  
“He’s right you know. This is the man you and Claudia raised him to be. If you didn’t want your son to be someone who helped others, you should have let the Whitmore’s raise him.” John gave an almost smile at the joke. “And you know he can’t back out of this either. A Caster’s promise is as good as being bone bound. He has to help otherwise he could lose his magic forever.” John refused to look at the other man, a pained expression on his face. Watching his son lose his magic would be too painful to even imagine. “Now, how about he talk about something more productive.” Sam hand glowed cobalt blue and the floor of the room became an overview map of the entire Standing Stone Circle. Bright pillars of blue indicated stones that were still working while red pillars indicated the broken Stones. There were more than John had guessed. It was rather disturbing.  
“How is this happening?”  
“Wolves.”  
“Excuse me?”  
“Giant Wolves according nymphs. I’ve contacted the Oregon and Washington branches to be on the lookout and Governor Grym has confirmed that the herds are almost here.” A wave of the Caster’s hand and the map expanded, showing the entire Western United States. From Colorado, a rather large figure of green was moving directly towards for Beacon Hills. “They’re a week behind but they will no doubt be here before this Friday. I have every daughter in my order working on fixing the Stones but if the Questing Beasts manage to get out, there is no way for us to stop them. The girls can fix the Stones but we have no power over the veil.”  
“Then how do we fix the veil then.” Sam took a sip from his mug and placed it on the table. He then said a few words in some language John didn't understand and the map moved. It closed in on something within Standing Stones. A single tree that didn’t different from any other tree John had ever seen except that even from this astral projection, the tree seemed old.  
“This is the Heart. The Heart of the Forest. It’s called a Nemeton. It is the power of the Nemeton that creates the veil and is the source of all the forest’s magic. It is the magic the herds use as fuel. It is essentially a very powerful magical battery.”  
“So.” the Sheriff was getting irritated. “What does this have to do with anything.” Sam made a soothing gesture.  
“John, it the Nemeton is damaged, the backlash would be far worse than anything the Questing Beast could do. It could potentially tear the entire west coast in half.”  
“Ok. so.”  
“In only way to restore the veil is for someone with the same power as the Nemeton to channel through it.”  
“And….” pause “Oh.” pause “Oh Dear God.” Sam just nodded.  
“Stiles is the only person who could harass the power of the Nemeton and fix the veil.”  
John looked at his friend, Sam’s eyes filled with the deepest sympathy. Unnoticed by either man was a vase of flowers filled to the brim of water.  
In his room on the other side of the house, Royce listened to his father’s conservation with the Sheriff with Allison sitting on the floor, a blank look on her face. With a quick tap on the glass, Royce severed the connection to the vase and looked at his friend.  
“Why?” was all the warder could say.  
“It’s because Stiles a spark. Magic resonates with itself. Stiles magic is the magic of nature, same as the Nemeton.” Allison looked down on the floor, a pained look on her face. Her eyes widened, understanding in them.  
“The druids.” Royce justed nodded. “Deaton?” Royce shrugged. Allison took a breath and stood up. “How much of this does Stiles know.”  
“Probably none of it. Merci was the one who told grandmother and grandmother told us. Joyful probably thought Stiles would never need to know about the Nemeton.”  
“Then why tell me?”  
“Because Stiles is going up against people who stole Druid arts if what Alice told us was correct. I think, just think mind you, that the Beasts were not the intended target.They might have just been in the way.”  
Allison nodded. Lydia, who was perusing Royce’s magnificent collection of magic books from Scotland, Ireland, England, and Wales. Finding one on the history of Irish Spirits, she started reading in it. Oddly enough, she didn’t recognize the language.  
“What is this written in?” Both Allison and Royce jumped, surprised by the other voice.  
“What?” Lydia held up the book to the pages on Banshee. “Oh, it’s Gaelic.”  
“Fansciating. How long does it take to learn Gaelic. Never mind, i’ll figure it out as I go along. May I.”  
“Ummm Yes?”  
“Thank you. Oh and about the problem with the Nemeton and Stiles. It’s only an issue if the veil thing is torn right.” Royce nodded “Well then, can’t we just use the Druids instead of Stiles. Make them fix it since they were the ones responsible for tearing it.” Allison liking the idea turned an eager look to Royce. Anything that kept Stiles out of danger was a good idea.  
“It’s a possibility but we don’t know the extent of their control or how strong they are. The Nemeton could use them as conduits of its power far more easily than untrained druids using it. It could fix the veil, yes, but it would kill them in the process. Make them part of the tree itself.”  
“So let’s use a metaphor shall we. This Nemeton is a battery, correct.” Nods “ A battery that also acts as it’s own circuit.” Nods “The druids would be either a switch or become more batteries.” Pause, nods “Resulting in either the power moving through them or being discharged.” Nods “But Stiles is a …”  
“Stiles would be switch, wiring, and insulator. He can control the flow of power much better, we hope.”  
“So it’s simple. If worse comes to worse, we support Stiles as he becomes the whole circuit. We just make sure no one or nothing tries to redirect it. There, problem solved.”  
Both Allison and Royce stared at Lydia with amazement as she started sounding out the dead language in front of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If people are interested, I hope to make continue this AU once with story is finished. yes or no?


	35. the spell begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience. Here is the new chapter

(BHCA, Tuesday, 8:30 am)  
Among Stiles’ more zany idea (Who are you calling zany, my ideas are awesome), this was one of this more, let’s use special. Scott was not entirely certain how he was even considering this. Sure, Stiles was like a brother to him and he would do anything for him and he knows Stiles would do anything for him in return. Moving a dead body? be there in five. Performing dangerous and illegal activities? I’ll bring the rope. Wooing the girl? I’ll get the cupid outfit (it crushed Scott’s heart when he found out cupid wasn’t a flying baby). Breaking into his school? Now we have a problem.  
“How are we even going to get inside? It’s the school locked during the break?”  
“That’s why I’m here.” Royce said with a smile. Scott was more than a little surprised when he got a phone call from Allison regarding what was going down and what Stiles was planning. Being the bro he was, he was totally down for helping Stiles with anything. Anything apparently meant breaking into the school to steal ingredients or something. Why Stiles couldn't just ask his mom was beyond him. Scott found himself agreeing before he actually realized what was being said. He was relieved to find out he would be getting help, but was a tad bit disappointed when it was Royce who pulled up to his house at 8:00 am, somehow convincing his mother, who hadn’t had her cup of coffee so would probably agree to anything, that Royce’s father wanted to interview Scott for a position in the Sgiathadair. It probably didn't hurt that Royce bribed the McCall household with homemade coffee cake. It was totally unfair using magical food. Delicious beyond words but still unfair. By the time the boys showed up at the school, Scott was all but twitching out of his skin with nerves.  
“What if we get caught? Won’t they expel us? Aw man I just got in too.”  
“Please relax Scott. I’m not good with healing and can’t make you so you have to relax. I told you that third cup was not a good idea and They are not going to expel us, not for something like this.”  
“Hey, caffeine is a necessary part of any breakfast. It’s like the most important food group there is.” The look Royce gave him was a mix between wide eyed amazement and you’re an idiot. Scott was impressed. It was almost as good as his moms’.

After a few minutes of much needed panic, Scott managed to wind himself down enough to be helpful.  
“So, ummm, dude. I know that we really don’t know each other well and all but why are you the one helping me and not…”  
“Not Allison.” Scott blushed but surprisingly, Royce did not make fun of him like Stiles would have.  
“Yeah.”  
“Two reasons. 1) I’m probably the best person to actually sneak into the school without setting off the wards and 2) I have been lacking in my duty as Stiles friend to help with his “special” ideas.” While Royce was talking, he and Scott were walking around the school until they came to a blank wall with no windows. “I mean, Stiles understands that Chase and I are sort of in our honeymoon period of just being bonded as Caster and Warder but that’s not really an excuse to not be keeping up on the issues at hand. Did you bring the chalk?”  
“I wouldn't say you haven’t been helping. You’re the one who told Stiles but the giant cat thing right? That’s pretty important. I mean, Chase is your man isn’t he? Aren’t you two gonna get married or something? Where is he by the way?” Scott pulled out the sidewalk chalk he found in a junk draw at home and handed it to Royce. Royce declined it a faint blush and a warm smile on his face.  
“That’s the hope. It’s a tradition but that doesn’t mean it will happen. I hope it happens, I really do, more than anything really, but that will be up to him. He can ask to sever the bond and find someone else if he wants too. He’s at his parents house. He’s gonna be super mad at me when he wakes up but it was the only way to make sure he didn't come. This is going to be dangerous enough without worrying about my warder. Now when I go, use the chalk to draw two circles, one on the wall in one color and another next to the wall in another.”  
With that, Royce walked up to the wall, pulling out several frozen water bottles from the bag he was carrying .  
“Ready?” Scott nodded and pulled out two colors of chalk. Royce turned to face the wall and left his hands. The water bottles lifted into the air at various heights and Royce spoke in a language that sounded like rushing water and growing things, of rocks sliding down mountains and what sounded like the beating of drums. “As the mountain bows to the wind and water claims the stone’s heart, may this wall be conquered by the power of the North.”

Without warning the frozen water bottles flew towards the wall and crashed into something hard. A sound of breaking ice filled the air and Scott guessed that whatever was suppose to happen failed. That was until he saw the air begin to freeze. As the water bottles hit was Scott guessed was a force field, the ice broke open and smashed into the field and began to freeze it. Soon, the boys were standing in front of a giant wall of delicate ice.  
“Now here comes the hard part. Be quick Scott.” Royce walked up the wall of ice and parted it like a curtain. Almost instantly, cracks appeared and the wall began to break. “Hurry please. I can’t hold it long.” Scott ran through what felt like a freezer at the grocery store. He quickly drew a giant circle on the ground in blue and another circle in green on the wall.  
“I’m done Royce.”  
“Excellent.” Royce ran through the part as the ice began to fall.

“That was insane dude. How did you do that?” Apparently the ice didn't break the wall, only managed to deactivate it for a few moments.  
“Magic.” Was the cheeky response. “And now it’s your turn.”  
“Alright I’m ready. So what do I do? Is this gonna be like Beetlejuice.”  
“It’s more like Portal, but lets’ get in first, we don't have much time. Now this wall leads to the cafeteria. I need you to picture the cafeteria in your mind and then open the hole.”  
“Ok, how do I open it once I’ve pictured it? I’ve never done something like this before.”  
“I haven’t either. I usually just unlock things but the school has fairy proof locks.”  
Scott was a bit concerned with Royce’s lack of knowledge but he had an idea. inhaling, Scott pictured the restaurant style room in his mind and places his hand up against the wall. A faint tingling, like static, run up his arm as he began to wipe his hand over the bricks, erasing them from the hole. Royce let out a whistle.  
“Not bad, not bad at all.”  
Scott just gave one of his dopey grins as he finished, not noticing the faint green grow that had surrounded his hand.

White Scott and Royce where breaking and entering, Stiles had the much harder job, (in his opinion at least). It wasn’t really his fault that his ADD decided to kick in five minutes before he was about to do the most dangerous thing he’s ever done ever. It was so dumb that it should be on an episode of Jackass. (Stiles, you are asking for help, not bungee jumping off of an overpass). That being said is the reason why Stiles and Allison were driving her car and Allison was driving (no it wasn’t because she was a better driver. I’m an awesome driver. Shut up Peter). It took them only about ten minutes to get to the preserve. Stiles had never been to this side of the forest before and was intrigued for all of about 30 seconds until something hit his side of the car.  
Thump  
“AHHHHHH.” screech.  
“Oh My gawd, ohmygawd, ohmygawd, ohmygawd.” EVer in control as always. Allison pries Stiles off the dashboard and grabs his face.  
“Stiles calm down, we’re fine.”  
“How do you know that. We could be attacked by another one of those giant wolves.”  
“Well then, let’s check shall we.” With that Allison opened her door and got out.  
“Are you insane!?” Stiles whispered screamed as Allison moved around the car.  
“Boy, you are one of the most powerful Casters in the country and you’re afraid of a thump.” Pause. “You forget your meds today didn't you.” It was more of a statement than an actual question. Stiles avoided Allison’s glare and fidgeted in his sit.  
“Not on purpose. I was nervous.” Allison groaned/huffed in annoyance.  
“There’s an extra bottle in my purse. Make sure you take the proper dosage.”  
“Yes mother.” Stiles minic but he did reach down for the purse and tried to find the extra bottle of his medication. It was fairly easy as Allison was absurdly organized. Taking two of the small pills, Stiles started to feel better but knew the effects wouldn’t kick in for some time. One the other hand, the angry looking woman coming their way was going to be here sooner. Stiles gulped.  
“Jedediah Hale, what in the name of Gods’ Green Earth are you doing.” Olivia Hale had heard the thump, scream, and screeching of tires from the house. She knew the younger Hales were playing tag but they knew better than to play near the entrance of the preserve. Getting run over can kill a werewolf if it happens enough times. But leave it to a 13 year old boy to break the rules. She saw the black and green jeep and the girl walking around to find out what hit the car but her eyes were for the stunned looking wolf. This was one of the reason’s she was glad Roman was human. He never did stupid stuff like this at home, only at school, under the proper supervision. The wolf was starting to stand up and noticing Allison, bared his teeth at her. Instead of backing up, the girl moved into a defensive stance, ready to counter.  
“Jed!” The name was almost barked and the wolf froze, a look of stunned fear on his face. It looked around as if trying to decide where the best place to hide was. He decided under the car. Too bad it was at the same time Stiles decide to get out and the wolf called jed used him to jump into the car, where it hide under the seat.  
“Ummm, huh?” A flustered looking Stiles asked Allison who justed shrugged, Still in defensive mode. Then he noticed the woman was right at the jeep. She was pretty, in a old fashion way. She was tall with an almost hourglass shape, beautiful tan skin with raven black hair cascading down her back in silky smooth waves. She had sharp cheekbones and a lovely mouth but it was the eyes that gave her away. They were the same gray brown eyes as Peter. The woman walked up to the jeep and stared at it intently, a peeved look on her pretty face.  
“Umm, Olivia?” Stiles guessed.

Olivia put down her cup on the table and looked up at the two teens across from her. After getting Jed out from under the seat, thanks to Stiles literally lighting a fire under the fool boy’s rear end, Olivia invited the Governor and his warder to the house for some lemonade and scones on the patio so she could oversee the younger Hales. Being the ever proper host, she did not ask what they were doing here until everyone was served. NOt entirely sure what to expect, it certainly was not the story Stiles and Allison told. They didn't tell her everything, she could hear the pauses in the story but they told her enough for her to get the general idea. In short, Stiles had agreed to assist the matriarch of the Nox find her missing clans men using old magic he found in his grimoire. They were able to get most of the necessary equipment so to speak except for the final bit which was why they were here.  
“I’m sorry Governor Stilinski but I’m not sure what you’re asking of me. From the sounds of it, Derek should be the one you should be asking. He’s the one who agreed to help you or better yet Peter. He’s in service to your family.”  
“See that’s the problem.” Stiles clapped his hands together and opened them and an ancient book smelling of ink and flowers appeared in the space. “According to the spell,” the book flew open to a page in a language Olivia could not read “All I needed was something to link to the missing person, a strong wind, a circle and something like a wolf.”  
“Alright?”  
“But then I received the thing that we were going to use to track the boy.” Stiles closed and opened his hand, a small white teddy bear appeared from thin air. “And that’s where the problem comes it.” Still not fully understanding, Olivia looked at what had to be the spell and then the bear.  
“I’m still not sure I understand.” Stiles took a deep breathe but Allison interrupted.  
“It turns out that the something like a wolf doesn’t actually mean a wolf. We thought it meant something akin to a wolf, such as “  
“A werewolf, yes I can see why you made that connection.” Olivia answered dryly but then a serious look crossed her face. “This is Polish isn’t it.”  
“Yes Ma’am.”  
“Poland doesn’t have any werewolves. It never did. Wolves yes but not werewolves.” Then a light bulb yet off in her head. “You need a turned wolf don’t you.” Stiles and Allison just nodded. It wasn’t a werewolf they needed but a person who could become a wolf which is probably why Peter sent them to find her. She could smell it from where she was sitting, the scent of sadness and pain coming from the bear but underneath it was the scent of complete unconditional love. Neither Peter nor Derek would ever be able to scent that like she could.  
Olivia turned to look at the sound of the door opening and Roman coming out. He was still half asleep, not aware of the visitors. A feeling of pain struck through Olivia’s heart looking at her son. What would she do if Roman went missing like the owner of the teddy bear did. She looked back at Stiles, a look of weary hope on his face. He knew the risks coming here, the risks of helping the Nox but he still did it. She now understood while Derek was head over heels with this boy. His heart was a loyal as any wolf. Closing her eyes for a second, she opened them to reveal the electric blue of a beta.  
“What do you need me to do Governor?” Stiles grinned and began explaining what the tracking ritual required.

 _“Olivia? Why Olivia?” Stiles asked Peter after explaining everything to the adults. The teddy bear had been passed around to find out if anything could be picked up except that it was well loved and cared for._  
_“Because of what she is.”_  
_“She’s a werewolf. you’re a werewolf. Derek’s a werewolf. What difference does it make if I ask your sister vs. Derek.” Peter held up the bear to his nose and inhaled._  
_‘Because Stiles, all I can smell is fur and washing detergent. Derek might have a better sense of smell but he won’t get much more than me. What you are looking for, from the sound of it, it something to track to emotions of the bear.”_  
_“Right, but can’t all werewolves do that?” Chris asked. Peter shook his head._  
_“ We can smell emotions of People in the same room or close by to us but not over an unknown distance. Olivia can. It’s one of the few things she can do that very few other wolves can do.”_  
_“Why is that?”_  
_“Because she wasn’t born a wolf. She was the the only one of the triplets born human. It’s why her son was born human.”_  
_“But she’s a werewolf now though.”_  
_“Well, not quite.She has all the abilities of a beta and she can turn into a wolf but she is not a werewolf.” Peter looked over to the wand sitting on the fireplace. “She was the reason my father attacked and nearly killed Deaton. It’s why Deaton was chased out of town, or one of them at least.”_  
_“I don’t follow.” Stiles never liked being confused. He was only happy when he had all the facts in front of him. Peter just shook his head._  
_“It’s not my story to tell but if you really want to find this boy and quickly before the beasts rip the town apart, I’d ask her for her help. Don’t get me wrong, Derek is a fine boy and will do anything he can for you but Olivia will be better choice.”_

After everything had been worked out, Stiles and Allison headed back to town with Olivia watching after them from the porch. Roman was now awake enough to notice he was outside.  
“Mom? Was that Stiles i mean Governor Stilinski and Allison?”  
“Yes it was.”  
“What were they doing here? Is everything alright?”  
“It will be hopefully.” Olivia turned to the house “Derek, get out here. We need to discuss something.” pause “yes Stiles is gone now get out here you big baby.”  
“Mom?”  
“Yes dear?”  
“What’s going on. Be honest with me.” Olivia smiled. Roman looked so much like her father it hurt sometimes. He even had the same bluntness and demand for honesty He was going to make some lucky Caster a fine Warder.  
“I am helping Governor Stilinski keep a promise but I need Derek to help me do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Deaton's sin is almost revealed


	36. Be Prepared

(BHCA)  
Scott would like to think that he was in pretty good shape. He was on the lacrosse team at his old school and made the starting line and since his asthma went away, he was a pretty decent runner, but watching Royce run was beyond his wildest imagination. Even at his old school where there were quite a shifters of various species, almost every one of them said that no one could outrun a member of the Sidhe when they chose to run. It was like watching a cheetah on the discovery channel. The dude in the overalls didn’t stand a chance.

_After Scott and Royce got into the cafeteria, they moved through the school as quietly as possible as Royce prevented the security wards from going off. From what Scott could tell from his limited magic sight, Royce had surrounded them in some sort of magic bubble that reflected the wards back at themselves so they didn’t sense anything but themselves. Scott thought that this was going to be a piece of cake. Go to the science building, collect the needed supplies then get gone. Unfortunately that plan was nixed when the small creature with horns snuck up on them._   
_“Gahhh!” Scott yelped when something grabbed his pants leg and tugged. Royce turned around to check on what was attacking when he saw Scott trying to hide away from the creature. When he saw what it was, he turned to Scott with a bemused expression on his face._   
_“I’m guessing this is your first time around one of the fauns?”_   
_“The what?” Scott asked as he slowly backed away from the creature. It looked like a 1st grader with very curly hair, short goat horns and the lower body of a sheep._   
_“The Fauns? They’re Dr. Greybuck’s familiars. They monitor the school when no one is around.”_   
_“Well, why didn't the wards go off?”_   
_“Well Scott, if you had been paying attention to your introductory to spellcraft class, you should know that the Fauns are the ones who make and set the wards.” Royce gave Scott the same look his mom would give him when he asked a question like what the capital of Oregon was. It’s not his fault the class was boring and his desk was comfy. The creature moved up to Royce and motioned for him to kneel down. When he did, the Faun started to whisper in his ear and Royce’s eyes when big. “Where?” The Faun pointed to the gym where the explosion had happened. “Can you get us close?” The Faun nodded and Scott felt more than saw a feeling of leaves surrounding him on all sides._   
_“What’s going on dude?” Royce turned to Scott with a serious expression._   
_“We’ve been infiltrated.”_

“Holy Mother of God, this kid is fast. What is he, part gazelle.” The janitor said as they tried to run away from the teenager chasing him. Despite the head start and the enchantment on the shoes should be making this easier but the kid was not giving up. NO matter how many twists and zig zags the janitor made, the kid was not to far behind. In a last ditch effort, the janitor withdrew a stick from the jacket and aimed it at Royce. A bolt of red lighting erupted from it and hit a shocked Royce dead on. “ha, Success. Who's the weaker species now, huh, bitch?” Unfortunately for the janitor, Royce, who didn't have time to dodge, still had the reflector ward up and the lighting just dissipated when it hit him. A look of dread spread over the janitor’s face and he turned towards the football field. The janitor continued to fire bolt after bolt hoping to slow Royce down only for each bolt to sizzle out and die as it hit Royce’s wall. Hoping that by getting onto the field would someone slow the boy down, the janitor increased the speed on the shoe enchantment and booked it. Royce started to slow down, appearing to be out of breathe. “Ha.” The janitor said right before running into the invisible wall that the Faun and Scott had put up right in front of the football field. While on the ground and dazed, the janitor was looking up when Royce appeared over them, a mean look in his eye. “Ah Shit.”

(Hale House)  
“You’re going what again?” Laura asked her aunt after the rest of the family had come down for breakfast and coffee after Olivia had managed to get Jed shifted back and the other children clean. Derek had been soaking up the smell of Stiles on the front porch while Olivia explained why the Governor was here.  
“I’m going to become his compass essentially.” Olivia explained as RJ continued to look sullen and furious at the same time. “Oh stop sulking Love, I already agreed and there’s no going back on this.”  
“I don’t like this. Peter is responsible somehow, I just know it. Why else would that kid come here and ask you to do this. How else would he know. When I get my paws on that man, i’m gonna…” the point was made when RJ ripped the giant package of bacon in half.  
“You, my mate, are not going to be doing anything. To either my brother or the Governor.” Olivia said coolly as Eliza took the bacon from her uncle-in-law. “I agree to this full heartedly and I have no desire to back out of my word.”  
“But why?” “But How?” Talia and Laura asked at the same time. Talia looked annoyed but Laura looked fascinated. It wasn’t everyday that a talent like this was discovered. As far as Laura knew, everyone knew everyone else’s abilities and strengths but this never came up before. If Olivia was successful, was this something that could be taught to future generations? The possibilities were running through her head as her mother gave her aunt a reproachful look.  
“I agree with RJ.” Somebody dropped a dish “I think this is a terrible idea. You have no idea what could happen. He could be using this to control you somehow. I think we should call him up and tell him you changed your mind.” Laura gave her mother an annoyed look. She was all about bringing glory to the family but only if she was the one to do it or it was done in the way she wanted. Olivia just turned to look out at Derek who was sitting in the chair Stiles had been sitting in, a look of joy on his face.  
“Do you remember that night?” Talia looked confused.  
“Of course I do. I’d never seen dad so furious. I’d never seen him actually try to kill someone before.” Olivia shook her head.  
“That’s not what I mean Ty. I mean do you remember what happened afterwards.” Talia gave her sister an annoyed look but Jan spoke up.  
“You were able to smell not only Deaton’s fear but the entire lynch mob, well their anger at least. What was impressive since they were at least five miles away.” Olivia nodded.  
“Stiles showed me the spell. He explained that the spell needed something wolfish. Something that was both a wolf and not a wolf.” She pointed to herself. “Something that wasn’t born a wolf but became one.”  
“So why not use a bitten wolf?” Les asked. Talia nodded her head.  
“Because dear brother-in-law, that’s not something what is both a wolf and not a wolf. A bitten wolf is still just a wolf. I’m the only thing that counts and I’m finally going to put this damned nose of mine to use.” With that, Olivia stood up and walked towards her room, the small teddy bear still in her hands. This afternoon when Stiles came back, she was finally going to do her mother proud. As she walked past Derek, she saw the look on his face.  
“Derek?”  
“Yeah Liv?”  
“You ready for tonight?” Derek turned to her, his eyes an electric blue.  
“Of course. I was accepted to help keep the Governor safe after all.” Olivia just smiled. Hopefully this would be the chance Derek needed to finally get Stiles. Selene knew the boy needed all the help he could get.

(Berkeley)  
Isaac knew he was in trouble, he just knew it. This was not a good start to his internship. He didn’t want to cause any problems but here he was calling Danny to help him.  
“This is Danny. I’m not available to take you call at the moment so leave a voicemail or text me and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks”  
“Danny! Please pick up, this is my third time calling and I really need your help. Please pick up.” The sound of shuffling outside caused Isaac to drop his phone. “Please.” Isaac all but whispered before hanging up.

_It was Isaac’s second day at Berkeley and he felt like he had found a place where he could truly flourish. He was learning all sorts of new things from Julius and the others and the projects Professor Nicely had him working on. Everyone was nice and it seemed that Isaac was really going to like it here. That was when the problem occurred. He had been asked by Rin to get more dry ice from the stockroom to run the experiments. She handed him the giant beaker and told him where to find it. Wanting to impress his new friends, Isaac moved quickly. He found the stockroom easily enough and was able to fill the beaker. While on his way back, he placed a lad where the faint sounds of crying could be heard from. Most normal people would have thought it just the sound of the air condition system but Isaac knew the sound of someone trying to keep from crying all too well. Not wanting to startle anyone, Isaac took a peek into the room and saw red. On the floor in one of the corners lay a small boy no older than ten being kicked by an older boy about 18 or 19. Isaac could faintly hear the sound of the older boys voice._   
_“Shut up you stupid freak.”_   
_“You're nothing, worthless, pathetic.”_   
_“I bet those other bikers aren’t even looking for you. They probably all glad you were taken.”_   
_Hearing that horribly taunting voice and the small figure trying to protect himself from the bigger male caused something in Isaac to snap. Oh so quietly, Isaac opened the door and snuck inside. The small boy saw Isaac but didn’t make a sound. Isaac managed to sneak closer until he was within striking distance of the other male._   
_“How do you like that you stupid worm.”_   
_“Probably the same as you’re going to like this.” Startled, the older male turned just in time for Isaac to smash the beaker full of dry ice into his face and eyes. The scream that ripped from the older male’s throat was cut short as Isaac kicked the other guy in the balls as hard as he physically could. The other male dropped to the ground, his face turning a hideous red from the cold burns. Isaac would have continued to kick the other male if he wasn’t so worried about the boy. Noticing the small boy looking at his with wide eyes, Isaac did his best to look any threatening._   
_“Shhh, shh, It’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you.” Instead of the sniffling he expected, the boy said in a very calm voice._   
_“You do realize that you’ve probably blinded him right and by the looks of that kick, made him impotent as well.” Relief flooded through Isaac as the boy didn’t look to hurt and that he wasn’t to scared._   
_“Well, he deserves it.” The boy just gave him a red eyed frown._   
_“The other druids aren’t going to like that though.” Isaac was taken aback._   
_“The what?” and so the boy explained the situation._

(BHCA)  
The janitor looked over at the two Casters as the rummaged through the stockroom looking for God knows what. Neither one of them had spoken to the janitor / spy since they captured them, apparently having no interest in why they were sneaking around the school. While that would have been a load of the janitor’s mind, the truth was it terrified them. One Caster had tied their hands and feet together with cord while the one that had chased them had done something to him where moving anything expect breathing made them nauseous and colder than they had ever been before.  
“What exactly are we looking for?” The shorter Caster with curly brown hair asked.  
“A wand.” the other answered.  
“But doesn’t He already have one?”  
“He does but according to Giselle, it’s going to take more than one person to call the wind so we need to get another one.”  
“So we’ll stealing one from the school.”  
“Well no. The school has a set of wands they let students borrow if they want to learn how to use them. The problem is that different wants work differently with different elements. So it’s not just a wand but a specific wand.”  
“What kind?”  
“Aren’t you two even a little concerned that I can hear you?” The janitor asked. Both boys turned to look at them and the taller one spoke.  
“You’re going to be put on trial for breaking into the school. There is nothing that we can do that would even compare to what is going to happen to you when Captain Glass and Dr. Greybuck are done with you so it doesn’t really matter. Even if you tell them, they’re probably not going to believe you.”  
The nonchalance the boy said that with terrified the Janitor. It was if the possible torture and murder of a person didn't even phase him. The other boy looked concerned at least.  
“Royce?”  
“yes?” The boy Royce wasn’t even paying attention.  
“Doesn’t this guy have a wand.” _Oh gods no. If they got their hands on that, I might as well bite my own tongue off and end it here_. Royce looked up and over at the Janitor.  
“Scott, I want you to reach onto that jumper and pull it out.” When the boy Scott tried to do so, the Janitor tried to back away and then promptly threw up. Scott managed to find the wand after a few seconds of searching and held it up so Royce could see.  
“Got it.” Royce nodded.  
“Great. Now I want you to repeat after me; _I twist and turn and dance and sing. I move and fly without any wings. I bring storm and the I bring the chill so here I come to do as I will._ ”  
Scott repeated the chant while moving the wand as a conductor would. Without any warning, the entire room was hit by what felt like a small tornado. Instead of the panic Scott showed or the janitor felt, Royce looked like he won first prize.  
“Scott, we have found our wand.”

A few moments later, Scott was drawing a circle on the ceiling with the blue chalk and was amazed when it opened up to the spot by the wall. Scott jumped through first and helped Royce through. Thinking the boys were just going to leave them there, the Janitor let out a small sigh of relief when they started to float upwards. Horror crossed over their face.  
“What!?”  
“Don't even think that we’re done with you. Just because we can’t do anything to you doesn’t mean we don’t have questions and if you get want to spend the rest of your life with frostbite, you’re going to answer them. Honestly.”  
At the parking lot, Scott noticed a very nice silver and black Mercedes pulling up and Lydia Martin getting out.  
“You guys ready?” She asked  
“Yep. Got everything?”  
“Of course.” Lydia flipped her hair like a model in a shampoo commercial.  
“Well then. let’s get going.” And off they went towards the Hale House

Across town at the Sheriff’s office, Marin Morrell sat at her desk with a look of a cat going through the washing machine. Lydia had done her job well, Marin was impressed with her student.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am thinking of doing a collection of one shots involving this universe giving more background on the characters. Would my readers be interested in reading those?


	37. To smell the wind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If my readers are happy with the story, please leave a comment.

  
(Stilinski Residence)  
Derek was getting kinda nervous. On the outside he was the epitome of wolfy calmness but inside he was as jittery like thi s was his first full moon. Derek had never really been comfortable with magic, especially when the magic involved him. It wasn’t like he didn’t trust Stiles or want to help him. He did, completely which was a little strange since he had only known the boy for a few weeks but felt like he had known him his entire life. He was nervous about what was going to happen to Olivia. It scared him that his aunt was going to be the center of the spell and if something went wrong, there was nothing he could do to save her. While Derek may have been nervous, Roman was furious. He was so mad, you could practically taste it. Being a wolf Derek could do the next best thing.  
“Roman, I swear if you don’t stop fuming I’m pulling this car over and kicking you out.”  
“Well excuse me Mr. Sourwolf, it’s not my boyfriend who’s endangering your mother is it.”  
Derek blushed hard but Roman was too angry to see it.  
“Stiles is not my boyfriend.” _Yet_. Roman justed huffed and continued to glare at the back of his cousin’s head.  
“How do we know this is even going to work? I mean, this could end up ripping mom into a bunch of little wolf nuggets and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.” _Wolf Nuggets? What are wolf nuggets?_  
“Nothing bad is going to happen to Olivia. I trust Stiles and I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt her.”  
“Well maybe not intentionally but you don’t know.”  
“Roman, you’re just making excuses.”  
“So are you.” And so it went until Derek pulled up to the Stilinski house. Getting out of the car, he was greeted by the overwhelming perfume that was Stiles. Derek took a deep breathe to embrace as much of the essence as he could. Unfortunately it was spoiled by Roman’s sour stench. Derek turned to give Roman a serious stare.  
“Listen here and Listen well, I don’t care what your feelings are on the matter, your mother agreed to this and you just have to deal with it.” Roman returned the glare with his own but took a step back when Derek’s eyes turned blue “but listen carefully, if you do anything or say anything rude to Stiles, I will remove you from the house personally and by any means necessary. You are not a cub and you are preparing to bond soon so act like the man you keep telling us you are or leave.” Roman didn’t get a chance to respond when Derek turned and walked to the house.

The inside of the house was just as Derek remembered with the perfume of Stiles's musk even stronger and on every surface. A small smile appeared on Derek’s lips as he felt like he was coming home from a long trip. In the sitting room, Peter was waiting for his nephews. The older wolf stood up from the couch and opened his arms for hugs. In a stressful time like this, pack scenting was extremely necessary to keep frayed nerves from collapsing and tempers cool.  
“Hello my darling nephews.”  
“Hi uncle petey.” “Hello Peter.” Derek and Roman said together as they gave their uncle big bear hugs. Both boys were taller than him now, which for some reason made Peter misty eyed. He always expected Derek to be bigger than him but Roman was a surprise. After a few minutes of the Hle men just being close together, Peter let go and backed away so that he could look both of his nephews in the eyes.  
“I think I should probably explain what is going to happen in a few minutes.”

“Now Olivia, are you sure you up for this. There are other options if you want to go home.”  
“Thank you Sheriff but I am quite sure. If Talia couldn’t make me change my mind, I am quite certain nothing you could say will do any better.” Olivia looked at Jonathan Stilinski with a cool and collected bearing. She knew what she was going to do and the potential, however unlikely, the danger might be. She had gone through far worse and survived and she highly doubted Stiles was the kind of person who would ask someone to risk themselves if there was a real chance of danger.  
“I understand that, i really do but I feel you might not have all the facts straight. I don’t have all the facts straight and I’ve been involved since the beginning.”  
“Sheriff, I am a grown woman. I am fully capable of making and standing by my own decisions. I appreciate the concern but this is important and must be done. I have my own pride to stand on as well sir.”  
“Well said Wolfen.” Alice said as she and Claudia walked down the porch stairs to the garden where the spell was going to take place. As the two most senior Casters present, they would be on hand if things became too out of control. Claudia had explained what was going to happen and Alice wanted to be there so she would be the first one to know Teddy’s condition.  
“All of my Clan’s hopes lay with you Mrs. Hale. Even if he is dead” she closed her eyes and shuddered and tried to take a controlled breath “I need to know. No matter what, I need to know.” John moved to speak to his wife.  
“How’s he doing up there.” Claudia tried to look confident but failed.  
“Ukochany, I worried. I looked over the spell and I have my doubts.” That was not something John expected his wife to say. She was always, always going on about how Stiles could do anything. That he had the power to do things that haven’t been seen in hundreds of years.  
“Why? What’s wrong? is he not going to be able to pull it off?” Fear, anxiety, and panic filled the Sheriff’s voice. Claudia reached out and took his hand, hoping to bring some calm to him.  
“It’s not the tracking spell I worried about dear, it’s the other part.”

Stiles was a firm believer that anything could be conquered with curly fries. That any and all of life’s difficult situations could be made easier with a bag of the golden deliciousness from his favorite burger joint and for most of his life he was right, until tonight. Tonight they had failed, Utterly and spectactorily.  
“Why fries? why have you let me down? Haven’t I always treated you with the love and respect you deserve? Haven’t I always given you the time and energy you desired? Haven’t I been a faithful worshipper at the shine of your fried goodness? Haven’t I….” Stiles had gone through three bags already, hoping to calm his nerves but it wasn’t helping. He was about to start his fourth bag when Allison took it and chucked it out the window. Knowing Stiles very well might try to follow them, she had Rex sit on him.  
“Stiles, concentrate.” Stiles watched his beautiful fries fall to the earth from his second story bedroom.  
“Please Governor, you need to prepare yourself.” Rex was a lot heavier than Allison had wore some strange clothes that made using magic on him make Stiles nauseous.  
“I am prepared but Lydia isn’t here yet and we don’t have the other wand yet or nothing.” The sound of mario kart coming from Stiles phone indicated a text. Moving it over to himself from where it lay on his desk, Stiles read it aloud. It was from Scott.

_We have infiltrated the garden and retrieved the apple. Bros are on the move to meet with the fox at the den. I repeat, We have infiltrated the garden and retrieved the apple. Bros are on the move to meet with the fox at the den._

A few moments later, the playing of pipes and drums indicated a text from Royce.

_I don’t know what exactly Scott just texted you but to clarify, we have retrieved the wand and something else. Lydia is with us and we should be there soon._

A moment later

_Why did a bag of curly fries from Arby’s just hit the hood of my car?_

A honking out front indicated that Royce, Scott and Lydia had arrived. They were ready.

As Stiles had explained earlier, the spell itself was simple. All that was really needed was for Olivia to stand in the middle of a circle with the teddy bear while Stiles and Lydia called up a wind to help track Teddy. Simple. Too bad it wasn’t quite all that was happening.  
“Olivia is going to what?” Derek looked as his uncle with consternation on his chiseled face.  
“She’s going to give you the scent. It’s going to transfer from her to you.”  
“How?”  
“I have no idea. It was her idea.” Derek gave Peter a wide eyed “you better explain yourself” look.  
“It’s not that complicated to understand Derek. You’re the one who promised Stiles to help and you’re also one of the Sheriff’s deputies. It’s your responsibility to go with Stiles and make sure he doesn’t get killed. From what Alice has told us, these druids are in full control of their wells and have no problem using magic to attack and hurt other people. Having you as a bodyguard maybe the best thing for him. Besides, Johnny would fire you if you didn’t go.”  
While Derek thought this over, Roman decided to add his two cents.  
“Why didn’t mom tell me about this huh? Why not just have Derek find the scent in the first place and not risk herself like this?” Peter looked at his younger nephew with mild amusement.  
“Risk? Roman, your mother has done far more dangerous things than this in her life at the hands of far less capable Casters. If you don’t believe me, ask her yourself about her first full moon.” A knocking at the door signaled the arrival of the missing pieces and that the spell was ready to begin.

“Ummm Stiles? I have an question for you?”  
“Yeah Lydia?” Stiles looked up from where he was drawing the circle into a cleared space using a thin silver light.  
“I don’t have as much experience with this kind of thing as you do but from what I understand, we’re justing calling a wind, right? I mean, it’s not that difficult. I’ve literally done it in my sleep.”  
“That’s not a question but I’m listening.” Lydia glowered but continued.  
“My question is Stiles, If this is so simple and rudimentary, why are you mother and Alice saying they’re here for countermeasures?” Stiles had just finished the circle and tied it with a Wizard’s knot when he stood up, cracked his back and admired his handiwork.  
“Oh, probably to keep anyone from getting hit by lightning is my guess.”  
“Lightning? Lightning? What Lightning? What the Hell Stiles?” Roman came bursting out of the house and Marched/ran to come face to face with Stiles. Stiles looked bugged eyed at the taller teen. “What do you mean by lightning. If this is some trick to hurt my mother…” Roman had grabbed Stiles collar and had raised a fist. Not paying attention, Roman was unaware until it was too late. Allison had grabbed Roman arm and twisted behind his back, hard. Hard enough that Roman, who had grown up around wolves his whole life, grimaced. At the same time, Allison’s other arm went around Roman’s neck in a headlock and she pulled back and down far enough that Roman was looking up at her face, his back at an almost 90 degree angle. With a voice that did not match the fire in her eyes she spoke in a cheery tone.  
“Let him go or I break you.” Roman tried to struggle free but could not move. Flaring pain raced up and down his spine.  
“Ms. Argent, if you would be so kind to release my son. I’m sure he has an excellent reason for threatening the Governor with bodily harm.” Olivia walked over to the small group, her eyes staring daggers at her son. Shame made Roman’s face burn red. Allison released him and he fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Olivia continued her disapproving stare at her son.  
“You’re very lucky the Warder General was not here to see this behavior my son, or you might never be allowed to bond. I can assure you though, had we not had more important things to do, she would have broken you in two and I would have done nothing to stop her.” With Roman looking thoroughly chastised, Olivia looked up at Stiles. “Now you said something about lightning.” Stunned with what just happened, Stiles didn’t hear the comment until Lydia elbowed him in the ribs.  
“Oh, Right. Lightning. You, Ms. Olivia, won’t be in any danger as you’ll be in the eye but the rest of us will be.”  
“Continue.”  
“Due to not having any idea where the boy is, we, Lydia and myself, won’t just be calling a breeze. We’re going to be calling winds from all over California and with that much wind magic flying around, Lightning is sure to follow. My Mom and Alice are here to make sure everything runs smoothly.” Olivia seemed to accept this as perfectly responsible and with a nod, stepped into the circle of light.

“Is everyone one ready?!” murmurrs of yes and lets get this over with came from the onlookers. Stiles took a deep breath and looked over at Lydia who was holding the wand that Royce and Scott brought back from the school. Olivia was standing between them, as regal as any queen.  
“Right then, here we go.” As one Stiles and Lydia held up the wands towards the sky. A strong silver aura surrounded Stiles and a fainter purple aura around Lydia. The Silver circle Stiles drew became to shimmer then shine as Stiles began to chant.  
“Od czterech rogach, przyjdź do nas i zebrać tutaj. Niech Północna przynieść zimny, pozwól Południowa doprowadzić ciepło, niech Zachód przynieść Spring, Niech East przynoszą deszcz. Przyjdź zebrać z całej ziemie razem, aby stać się przewodnikiem dla tego, kto stoi centrum i gotowy na to, co masz ze sobą.”  
(From the four corners, come to us and gather here. Let the North bring the cold, let the South bring the warmth, let the West bring the Spring, Let East bring the rain. Come gather from across the lands together to become a guide for the one who stands center and ready for that which you bring.)  
Stiles and Lydia repeated the chant a total of four times, each time the wands pointing to one of the four cardinal direction. For a moment or two, nothing seemed to happen, but a slight breeze began to move in the still afternoon. As the breeze became, Stiles and Lydia held up the wands towards Olivia and spoke in unison “Now Wolfen, let your noise be our guide.” A force like a hurricane descended on the spot where Olivia stood. Winds from all directions swirled around Olivia like a small tornado. Scents filled the air from the smell of rain to the smell of a dry summer day and everything in between. Even the humans could smell it. It was extraordinary, and truly awesome. The winds became a tunnel that reached up to the sky, like the tornado from The Wizard of Oz and though it thrashed about wildly, it never moved from the small circle Stiles drew. The force of the winds pushed and pulled the onlookers and most had to brace themselves to prevent from flying away. A distant sound of crashing reached Derek’s sensitive ears. It was the sound of a hundreds of hooves hitting the ground at once. Derek had to scream to be heard over the sound of the wind.  
“I think something’s coming.” As he finished, Derek looked around, trying to find Stiles only to find him in the exact same spot, unmoving except for all of his clothes being whipped about him. As Derek tried to move closer, he thought he saw a silverly wind surround Stiles, protecting him from the tempest. Chances were that a similar one was protecting Lydia. Glad to see Stiles was alright, Derek looked for Roman but just then the first flash of lightning filled the sky and the first bolt headed towards the house.

A flash of gold hit the lightning right before it hit, cancelling it out. Another bolt, and a bluish bolt intercepted it. As each new bolt appeared, it was cancelled out by Alice and Claudia.  
“Derek.” Stiles voice was hard to hear over the gale. “Can you get over here?”  
“I can try.” With arms covering his face, Derek slowly made his way over to Stiles. Once he was within a few feet, he felt the presence of the other wind, the one surrounding Stiles envelop him as well.  
“I’m here Stiles.” Derek said as he reached the other boys’ back.  
“Great. I’m guessing Peter told you what we need you to do.”  
“He did.”  
“Right then, you’re going to have to be quick. I don’t know how long I can hold this thing open.”  
With those words, Stiles made a gesture with the wand and a small opening appeared in the tornado like someone unzipped it from the ground up.  
“Move now please.” Derek ran.

Derek didn’t know much about tornados or hurricanes despite having lived with a meterologist while he was on the East Coast but what he found was certainly not what he was expecting. Olivia stood in the middle of the circle, completely calm with not a hair changed. The only movements she made were the occasional sniffs and bringing the bear up to compare.  
“Olivia?” Olivia looked up to see her nephew looking like he had just stepped through a tornado, which he did.  
“Isn’t it breathtaking Derek?”  
“What?”  
“This.” She motioned towards the tunnel of wind. “It’s amazing what Stiles is able to do. Deaton could never had done something like this. He was truly able to draw wind from all over the state. Heck, I wouldn’t have put it past him to draw wind from all across the West Coast.”  
“Olivia, the scent.”  
“Oh I found it. It was difficult but I found it. The boy is very much alive but there’s something wrong. It took me a while but I was able to identify it.”  
“What is it?” Instead of answering, Olivia walked over to Derek and gently cupped his head in her hands and her eyes went blue. Derek felt something inside of him, where his wolf sleep stir. It was as if Olivia was imparting a piece of her wolf into his. Derek’s wolf howled as the feeling overcame it and suddenly the world exploded around him. NO longer was he surrounded by wind but a torrent of smells, each one distinct and individual. No two were the the same even if they were carried by the same wind. The strong new sense of smell caused Derek’s eyes to water.  
“Is this what you experience all the time?” Derek asked in awe.  
“Everytime I don’t breath through my mouth.”As Olivia continued to hold his head, a feeling of turning ran through Derek. It was as if Olivia’s wolf was pointing his wolf towards something in the distance and he smelt it. It was the same scent as the bear. It was the boy. It was Teddy. And someone was beating him. Just before Derek let out a growl, the scent of the attacker changed. It went from pleasure and rage to pure agonizing pain. The smell of something very cold filled his nostrils.  
“What..”  
“Dry Ice most likely. We found him Derek and he’s in trouble.” Right before the scent of the boy was stored in his wolf’s memory, a very familiar and distinct smell joined the boy’s. Both his and Olivia’s eyes widened in recognition. It was Boyd.


	38. and they're off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meet Alpha Derek

(Stilinski Residence)  
There was no mistaking the smell of pack and that was definitely Boyd.  
“What is Boyd doing there near the boy?” Derek looks to his aunt in confusion, not sure what this means or what is going to happen. Instead of answering, Olivia grabs hold of Derek’s head again and brings it down to hers.  
“Listen to me very carefully nephew because this part is important. The Governor is going to need you now more than anyone else. You are going to need to be strong, stronger than you’ve ever been before.” Derek gave her a look at spoke volumes of 20’s alpha male cookiness “I’m being serious nephew. You cannot falter, even a bit, even a moment. If you do, you could very well be lost to us forever.” That got Derek’s attention.  
“Wait, you mean feral? How could I become feral? Liv, what is going on?”  
“Derek, the power running through you is the moon and the wilds. It is the power and strength of the hunter, but be warned. We are not foxes, Derek, we do not do well with magic.” Flashes of memory pass through between the two Hales. Memories of a night of a blue moon, of an enraged alpha, a grieving family, and pain more brutal than anything he had felt before.  
“Olivia….”  
“Be strong nephew, for you may be the boys only hope.” Olivia’s tone seemed to mention more than one boy at stake here. Kissing Derek’s forehead, she backed away from him until she reached the edge of the whirlwind. Looking past him, she spoke loud enough for them her outside. “He is ready Governor.” Derek stood there dumbfounded when suddenly his world went red.

Outside of the massive whirlwind, Stiles was waiting for the signal to begin what he hoped would be successful. The book didn't mention how this was suppose to go about but based off of what he knew, this might be the only chance for him to kill two birds with one stone. Hearing Olivia above the din of the storm, Stiles muttered a very simple spell “Łańcuchy, które wiążą cię, być uszkodzony.” (Chains that bind you, be broken.) The wand began to burn.  
“ _You’re going to do what?” Sheriff Stilinski stared at his son with incomprehension on his face. Having been married to Claudia for years, he thought he had heard everything about magic and such but what Stiles just said flew right over his head. Stiles looked a bit sick as if what he just said ailed him but he continued. Claudia looked like she might be sick as well._  
 _“I’m going to release him.” was all Stiles could say._  
 _“Release him? How can you release him? He’s not imprisoned.” He looked to Peter and Chris who both just shrugged. Alice looked looked at Stiles with horror on her face. Horror, from the matriarch of the Nox. Under her breath, she whispered “He doesn’t mean the boy.” Claudia tried to swallow but couldn’t manage._  
 _“Are you sure this is wise Bronisław.” Stiles just shook his head no but he really didn’t have a choice._  
 _“From what the book has on druids, it seems like the have the ability to control shifters. It’s why druids are chosen to be emissaries. Their control works by pitting the logical part of the brain against the instincts, making the shifters more compliant with requests and orders. I’m going to need Derek in order to do this but I can’t risk the possibility that one of these newts has learned how to use that control. So in order to make sure they can’t use him against me, I have to release him.”_  
 _“I don’t understand what that means, Stiles. What are you going to do to my deputy?” Stiles takes a deep breath before opening his mouth but Olivia finishes the sentence._  
 _“He going to release his instincts, Sheriff. Stiles is going to turn Derek Alpha.” Peter started to retch._

Derek has never felt like this before in his life. There was more power running through him than, than ever. It was more than running through moonlight, more than being a wolf. It made him feel like he could take on the world. Like he could take on the universe. Like he could take on his mother. There was nothing he could not do, nothing he could not accomplish. He was young, strong and vital. In the back of his mind, he barely noticed the presence of a sliver of power wrapping itself around him. Derek looked up to Olivia and grinned, all his teeth white and strong and terrible. Oliva did not step back nor did she cower but she did looked, what was the word. _Concern,_ a voice in the back of his mind said. _She’s concerned for you, for what has become of you_. Derek felt like he knew that voice. It wasn’t his but just as or more important than his. He turned his head to sniff the air. Something smelled off. Derek turned and walked through the twisting and thrashing winds without a second thought. As he disappeared through the storm, Olivia fell to her knees then to her rear.  
“Talia is going to kill me.” The storm fell away.

The whole group stood still as Derek appeared and walked, more like strutted, towards Stiles. The Silver wind around him, that had been protecting him had started to disperse as the whirlwind died. Stopping only a few inches away from Stiles, Derek looked down at the boy. Red eyes full of power and ego met hazel eyes full of awe and concern. Stiles spoke first.  
“Derek? Are you alright?”  
“Hand” it wasn’t a question but a command. Stiles blinked in confusion at the towering wolf. Derek’s voice was somehow deeper and resonated more.  
“Im sorry?’  
“Hand” Without warning, Derek grabbed Stiles hand the wand was in and yanked it up. The wand fell out of his hand hitting the ground with a hiss, relieving an ugly and dark burn across his palm. Stiles hadn’t even noticed the pain, his concentration being on the wind and the spell on Derek. Derek brought the ruined hand up for him to inspect it, growled and with a surprisingly amount of gentleness, brought it to his mouth and began to lick and kiss it. His eyes never left Stiles. Stiles gulped, his adam's apple givering. Hoping not to startle or antagonize the wolf, Stiles tried to pry his hand away. He was unsuccessful. Looking into Derek’s eyes, Stiles tugged on the sliver of power he tied around Derek.  
“Please let my hand go. I need it.” much to the surprise of everyone, including himself, Derek released Stiles hand, which was completely healed. Smiling with a twinge of fear, Stiles turned to the rest of the group.  
“I think it’s time for us to be going now.”

From what Derek and Olivia were able to gather from the smells and from the map of the territory, the group as able to pinpoint the exact location of the boy Teddy and Boyd. It was a Biology lab at Berkeley University.  
“Well Shit.”  
“Stiles, language.”  
“gówno” Claudia rolled her eyes.  
“Why is this bad. We know where he is now. We can go get him.” Rex looked like he was ready to ride there by himself and take on anything that got between him and his brother.  
“Whoa there, Leroy Jenkins, we can’t just bust into Berkeley and just start plowing through it like, like, like a thing that plows.” Four of the adults and Allison face palmed while Derek chortled.  
“And why not.”  
“Because it’s a school. A mortal school. Muggles go there.” Stiles emphasized the points by waving his arms.  
“And?” This was no concern of his.  
“So? If you go there and going all avenging warder on the students and faculty, you’d be breaking like,” Stiles counted in his head and on his hand “47 laws, codes, and rules and be brought in front of the Sword and Shield for endangering the lives of noncombatants.” Chris nodded proudly at Stiles for remembering all that. Rex looked unimpressed.  
“So?”  
“So?! The Sword and Shield have the authority to have you executed while still bonded to Alice.” That stopped Rex’s motor. He looked guiltily over to his lady who smiled a reassuring smile. “Since this is a state school, we have to be on our best behavior and not go traipsing around like godzilla at a ballet recital.” Stiles really needed to work on his metaphors.  
“Well then, it sounds like you have a plan Stilinski.” Derek said from his place at the dining table, one arm over the back, the rest of him sprawled out over it.  
“I do, yes, and it entails that you all,” Stiles points to the adults, “stay here.”  
“Now hold on one second mister, if you think I’m going to let you do something this half-brained without proper supervision, you are not as smart as your teachers think you are.”  
John admonished.  
“No worries there Boss Man, I’m make sure he’s safe.” Derek had stood up and curled one arm around Stiles hips almost possessively. “I dare the man who tries to lay a hand on him while I’m around.”  
“Great sounds like that’s all settled. I’ll get my car.” And with that, Stiles left the kitchen with the rest of the house giving him a variety of different looks from amused to reluctant acceptance. Shortly afterwards, Derek followed, hands in his back pockets, strutting for all the world like a warder.  
“What the hell?” Alice asked under her breath  
“Achilles.” John answered. Alice turned to look at him while Olivia and Peter just nodded. Derek was acting just like a young Achilles. The Achilles John grew up with.  
“There was a reason Talia refused to give him the Bite.” Peter said “He’d be too much for even her to keep under control.”  
“But why is he following the Governor around like a doberman. I thought Alphas didn’t follow any power but their own.” Chris asked the wolves. Peter shrugged, unsure as to what was happening. This had never happened to them before, so he weren’t entirely sure what to expect. They could still feel him do he hadn’t left the pack but it felt like there was something off. Like the connection was fraying. Olivia just watched him go, repeating her earlier statement.  
“Talia is definitely going to kill me.”

Outside, Derek was leaning against one of the trees, waiting for Stiles to get his jeep. Allison had was standing a little ways off, talking to the boys Scott and Royce. It was weird, Derek could feel her somehow. It was almost like the pack bond but not quite. It was as if they were two dogs tied to the same post. They couldn’t directly tug on one another but they could feel the others movement and presence. It gave him the chills, which was also weird since he was running unusually hot. It felt like his blood was on fire. He had never felt more alive. He needed to be moving, doing something.

“Why are we bringing them with us?” Allison had been given the full rundown of what had happened at the school by Scott. Lydia had left, having gotten a phone call from Danny about something. Scott looked liked a kick puppy, unable to answer the question.  
“Because they know the druids, at least some what.” Royce explained.  
“How do you know that?” Allison shot  
“Why else would someone break into the magic school?” Royce shot back. He understood that Allison was upset and probably thought that he should have told one of the adults, which he should have but that would mean not having a primary resource to the druids. The janitor was a newt druid, Royce could sense it and having them meant having a better clue as to what they were facing.  
“Listen Allison, once Giselle gets here, you can interrogate the prisoner as much as you want, but you need to wait until we have another car. We can’t all fit in the death-trap-in-sky-blue.”  
Allison reluctantly agreed that that made sense. She couldn’t help be on edge. She could almost feel Derek inside her head. It wasn’t like the warder bond but it was close, almost like Stiles had split the bond to bring Derek to heel. It unnerved her, feeling something that wild and feral close to her.

A few minutes later and a customary horn blared through the quiet air as Stiles pulled up in his jeep of death followed by a camo colored range rover. Derek and Allison both moved over to the jeep and Stiles, almost in synch. They may not have noticed it but Stiles certainly had.  
“Gods and little tiny fishes, I hope I’m not going to get all three of us killed.” Stiles hadn’t really planned on bonding Derek but it seemed like the only way to control the newly turned Alpha. Allison was going to give him hell when she found out what he was sharing her bond with a werewolf, if she hadn’t already figured that out. Inside the range rover, Giselle sat in the shotgun seat next to an irate Victor. He was staring holes into the side of Royce’s head. Royce must have felt it since he tried to avoid looking in that direction. Seeing he was being ignored, Chase got out in a huff and stomped his way over to his boyfriend.  
“Don’t, not here.” Royce asked Chase before the warder could open his mouth. “You can yell at me once we are in the car but know that what I did was a direct order from the Governor.”  
“Is that suppose to make me feel better about you sneaking around without me?!” Chase was incredulous.  
“No it’s not, but neither is it your place to question what I do. You are my warder, Victor, not my babysitter.” Chase looked over at Allison for support but she was too busy glaring at Stiles to notice. “Victor, Stallion, I love you but you must understand.” Royce knew that if he didn’t defuse the situation, it was going to make the whole evening impossible. Chase would do what was needed but he would make it hell for his charge. “I am honor bound to do certain things that you won’t be part of. I go and do what Stiles asks of me. I know you’re angry with me but you knew this would happen when you asked me to bond you.” Chase gave Royce a hard look which changed to a sad one.  
“I know and I’m not upset with you for helping Stiles, I’m just made that you didn’t tell me about the plan with the Nox. I mean, My God Royce, the head of the Nox was in your living room watching us kiss. You could have told me the reason she was there.” As an apology, Royce gave Chase a kiss. A blaring horn from the rover indicated Giselle was getting annoyed.  
“Alright, alright, let’s get moving. Scott, you’re with us.” Scott looked flabbergasted as to not be riding with Stiles but the jeep could only hold four safely, and even that was a stretch.  
For some reason, Derek was the one who got in the driver’s seat while Stiles had to settle for shotgun. Allison was coming back from Royce’s car with the janitor and shoving them in the back seat where they could have a nice friendly chat on there way. Based on how fast the group went, it would take the two cars about 30 minutes to an hour through the tunnels that connect Beacon Hills to the rest of the state. It made traveling a lot faster over the ridiculous size of the state. In the Derek, Derek rolled down the window and let out a howl and pumped the accelerator and was off with Giselle driving the rover right behind him.


	39. To know

(Hale Residence)  
Olivia knew that Talia would be furious with her and she had the right to be. She knew that Talia would probably shift and demand Olivia fight for her life. She was expecting a lot of things, Alan Deaton sitting in her living room was not one of them.  
Olivia as Olivia opened the back door, the all too familiar scent of the man hit her hard. Memories of pain and the last time she saw him slid across her mind’s eye. Shaking her head to get rid of the images, she attempted to sneak her way through the house.  
“She knows.” Nancy was sitting at the table, chopping up what Olivia expected was dinner for the living members of the family.  
“That’s to be expected. It’s not everyday your son suddenly goes from being a beta to an alpha in the course of an afternoon. Was she in much pain.”  
“I wouldn’t know, I can’t feel her either.” That caused Olivia to pause. Nancy was an Omega. She of all people could feel each and every member of the family unless.  
“Oh God, she isn’t feral is she?!” The very thought of losing another family member to that chilled her blood.  
“No, not that, At least not yet though she might go feral on you once she gets her hands on you. No, I think Deaton has done something to her.” Worried for her alpha and sister, Olivia entered the main house to find a pissed off Rj, a stoic Dion and a fuming Achilles. There was no sound of little feet running about. Eliza must have taken them somewhere.  
“What’s going on?” RJ turned to his wife, his eyes flashing a challenging blue, not at her but at Achilles, who started to speak.  
“Hello, Sister. How nice of you to join us in this time of need. I was worried that you might be having too much fun with your new friends to worry about us.” RJ growled low in his throat. Olivia tried to grasp what was going on but her nose was clogged with the scent of testosterone coming off the two males. Achilles continued. “You know, I expected his kind of treasonous behavior from that rat fink Peter but not from you, Olivia. How dare you come into this house after what you just did. Your own flesh and blood. You hurt her deep.” Olivia was surprised RJ hadn’t leaped up and ripped Achilles throat out by know. They may be closer than brothers sometimes but what Achilles was saying went beyond insult. She turned to Dion who was standing between the two, a wall to separate the other males.  
“Talia ordered RJ to remain seated until sher business with the druid was over. After she felt the..well the split… she called Deaton back to see if there was anything he could do to…” Dion made a hand motion to finish the statement. This was bad, Dion was never short on words. Suddenly things started to make sense, well at least why nancy couldn’t feel Talia.  
“Where are they?” Dion pointed down. Nodding, Olivia turned to Achilles and glided up to the man and met him stare for stare despite him being taller.  
“Be warned brother. You might be the Alpha’s mate but what you said crosses a line you cannot step back over. You are no wolf and thus have no business in the affair of wolves.” Olivia continued, her tone soft but her words were steel. “Talia might not like what I have done but that is between me and her, not her sex toy.” Achilles looked like he had been slapped, “The next time you insult me or Peter, not even Alphonse Carson will be able to put your pieces back together.” And with that, Olivia glided out and towards the cellar to confront her fate.

“Things are bad aren’t they.” Erica asked Eliza as she tried to unsuccessfully soothe a distraught Cora. Eliza had Marcus’s head cradled in her lap. Laura had left, saying she needed a run. That was an and hour and a half ago. Eliza just nodded to her pack sister.  
“Yes, they’re bad. I don’t know how bad but they’re bad.” Eliza couldn’t explain what had happened but one moment the family was joking and preparing dinner, waiting for Olivia to return with news, the next, Cora, Laura, Talia, and Marcus were on the ground screaming, hands clutching their hearts and heads. Achilles ran to his wife to try to find out what was wrong but the only thing that any of them could say between the howling, screaming and tears was “He’s gone, he’s gone.” It was only once Jan had put Laura in a headlock to calm her did the girl manage to get out that the connection to Derek had vanished. It wasn’t broken and it hadn’t snapped, it simply vanished. “What does that even mean.” Eliza asked her sobbing husband. In the silence of the room, the tune to Space Jam started to play. Eliza looked up and gave an exasperated sigh as Erica picked up her phone. It was Boyd.  
“Hey Baby, can you call back later, this isn’t a good time.” Eliza’s ears picked up her pack brother’s reply.  
“Unfortunately darlin, things are about to get a whole lot worse.”

(Drive to Berkeley)  
Things were not going as Stiles had hoped. The plan that went through his head was that Derek would track the scent and they would get Teddy out and back to his clan before too much trouble was made. Simple, easy to follow. Boy, was Stiles not cut out for this plan making spheal. The first hurdle came with Derek. Apparently turning Alpha turned your maleness up 1000000000000%. Derek had started out acting like a frat boy on Spring Break. He was obeying none of the traffic laws or even the common courtesies of the road. He was sticking his head out of the window and howling and he kept eyeing Stiles like he was going to jump his bones any moment (which would have been great if they weren’t occupied with more important matters. Car sex was definitely on Stiles bucket list). His reckless driving was making it difficult for Giselle to follow (which she explained with several angry texts and one rather vulgar phone call).After a few good tugs on the bond, Derek calmed down enough. The bigger hurdle came after Allison started integrating the janitor. Stiles had the bone wand out and keeping up a steady pressure to force the person to speak the truth and only the truth (Derek said he could tell if the person was lying but he wasn’t really in a position to do anything about it and the janitor seemed more afraid of Allison than anyone else. Smart dude). What the janitor had explained made Stiles groan inside. He was so not as prepared as he thought he was. Allison was having the janitor person tell everything again over her cell so the other car could hear.  
“Start from the top again and make you don’t leave anything out.”  
“Yes Ma’am.” The janitor gulped and wet their lips. “My name is Honor Giver.”  
“What were you doing at BHCA?”  
“I was working as the after school janitor.”  
“Why?”  
“To find something.”  
“What something?”  
“I don’t know. Anything really to stop Meredith.”  
“Whose Meredith?” Honor swallowed hard.  
“Meredith is my future sister in law. My brother, Julius, Fiance.”  
“What were you trying to stop her from doing.”  
“I was trying to find a way to bind Her and her cadre. You see, Meredith and my brother and a group of their friends from my home town are druids. Only they’re not really druids, they weren't born as druids or anything but the veterinarian saw potential in them and started to recruit them under the guise of interns when he was really teaching them magic. At first it was ok, kinda cool and what not. They were training to be Casters and such but after Margaret left, things went from ok to bad.”  
“Whose Margaret and what does she have to do with this?” Giselle asked over the phone. Honor looked up at Allison and she indicated for Honor to continue.  
“Margaret Paige is Meredith’s younger sister. She’s not that much younger, only about 15 months, Margaret was the best out of the druids Deaton, that’s veterinarian’s name, taught. Deaton said that she must of had the spark already inside of her since she could do things none of the rest of us could do. Anyways, right before we graduated from high school, Margaret got this letter from some high ranking Caster about coming to talk to her. We all thought it was about more training but it was the Governor.” A brief look at Stiles “excuse me, former Governor. Margaret apparently was a lot better than we had originally thought since she was offered a position as a Lead for the Herds.” A low whistle was from from the other side of the phone. Being asked to Lead the Herds was a huge honor and bigger responsibility. “This wouldn't have been a problem if Meredith didn’t have a jealous streak the size of the Grand Canyon. It made her furious that her sister was getting all of this attention and success.”  
Honor stopped to take another deep breath. “Meredith and Margaret got into a huge fight about how Margaret didn’t deserve this chance since she was, well it wasn't very nice, and Margaret retaliated that Meredith was never going to accomplish anything or ever be more than just Julius girlfriend since Julius had a future and all she had was a big rack and legs that were always opened. My brother, siding with Meredith, got angry with Margaret and told her that she was nothing to anybody and Margaret responded,  
“Well at least I didn’t have to steal my magic you newt.”  
“This probably struck a little too hard with the rest of the group since Deaton had found out out us looking into stronger stuff than we were ready for and had stopped teaching us. But as you know…”  
“Once you grasp power, you never really ever let go.” Stiles finished the old proverb.  
“Right. Well things went bad. Meredith started to get ideas in her head about how she was going to beat Margaret and do better than her. She got into some pretty dark stuff.”  
“Move this along.” Stiles asked. He was getting impatient. This story was all backstory and not really helping with the situation at hand. Honor was not being a great deal of help. “I’m sure this was all important at some point but apparently Meredith is dead so please make your point.”  
Honor looked dumb struck.  
“She dead? How?”  
“Apparently your brother and his friends decided breaking into the heart of the forest and poaching a cub from its parents was a good idea.” Horror spread across Honor’s face.  
“They did what?” Allison looked to Stiles with confusion.  
“Your brother and Meredith tore a hole in the veil separating the heart and the world and stole a cub. Didn’t you know about this.”  
“No, no absolutely not. That was not the plan. That’s suicidal.”  
“Yes it is not to mention the damage it caused could potentially destroy all of Beacon Hills.” Honor started to hyperventilate.  
“No, no, no. This is bad. Meredith is dead? How? why?”  
“Well, as your friends were making their escape, they came across a clan of Nox and confronted them and lost, big time. Derek added.”Your friends got their asses kicked.”  
“But some of them escaped with a member of the clan, which is why we’re heading to Berkeley to rescue him, so you better start telling us what to expect.” Honor had moved on from hyperventilating to a full on panic attack. Honor was desperately trying to get the car door open. Giselle spoke up.  
“Derek, pull over. I think your guest needs my attention.” Derek begrudgingly pulled the car over with a sharp twist, irritated at the break.  
Honor was finally able to open the door and stumble out to the closest tree and started to gag. Giselle puller the other car over and jumped out to check up on the prisoner. Everyone else got out of the cars waiting for Honor to calm down. Even with Giselle speaking in calm tones and gently rubbing the prisoner’s back, Honor just got more and more upset.  
“Calm on, it’s alright. What’s wrong.”  
“We fucked up, we fucked up. God, She’s going to kill us. We’re dead. We’re all dead.” Honor looked up at Giselle. “I don’t want to be eaten.”  
“Eaten? Who's going to eat you.” Honor started to shake violently and lashed out. The prisoner was not prepared for the healer to be prepared for the hysterics and with a few twist, managed to get honor into a full nelson.  
“Now let’s not do that again and tell me who threatened to eat you. I can’t help you if you don’t help me.” Honor started to sob.  
“The women from the woods. They said that they could make us real Casters like Margaret. Powerful, respected. They said that we would be welcomed to the new order but if we screwed up, we’d get eaten.”  
“What women were they.”  
“I don’t know, I really don’t.”  
“Honor, I need you to be honest with me or I’m going to ask Derek and Chase to come over here.”  
“Please no, no more wolves. No more Warders. I just want to go home.” That last statement triggered something.  
“Honor?”  
“What?”  
“How did you know Chase was a Warder or Derek was a wolf.” Honor’s eyes went big and the former janitor started to thrash about. Giselle muttered a small word under her breath and Honor stopped moving altogether. “Stiles, I think you should come over here. Now. Royce, you too” Stiles jogged over with Royce.  
“What’s the matter bro?”  
“Stiles, Royce. Honor knows that Chase is a warder and Derek a wolf.”   
“So?”  
“Stiles, Honor, the night janitor, knows Chase is a warder.”  
“Okay? Wait.” Both boys looked over at the still Honor. Stiles eyes went silver with color and he swiped his hand in the air in air before Honor while Royce did the same to the back. Two pale sheets of magic passed through Honor and stopped in the middle. All three Casters eyes went bug eyed. They all started to back up very quickly.  
“kurwa, kurwa, kurwa,” Stiles swore  
Neukan” Giselle spat  
“Chase! Allison! Help!” The two warders and Derek ran over to the Casters and the prisoner. All three took defensive stances in front of the Casters between them and a sobbing Honor. Chase and Allison pulled out their weapons while Derek just looked baffled, unsure what to make of the thing in front of him. Standing before them was something none of them expected.  
“Honor, who did this to you?” Giselle asked, horrified at the sight before her. That caused Honor to cry harder.  
“ She..she...she wanted to prove to Deaton that she could be a Druid. She said that if Deaton took her on as a full apprentice, she would find a way to fix me. That’s way she can’t be dead. She just can’t. I don’t want to stay like this anymore. When … when … when Deaton left, Meredith went looking and found the wo wo women and they.. they ..told her that they could make her a full druid but if they told anyone about them or failed to do what they said, we’d be hunted down and I’d be eaten.” Honor fell to the ground unable to breathe through the tears..  
Standing before the Casters that had once been a human called Honor was a something no longer even considered human. The bitch Meredith had used dark arts to turn Honor into a grotesque mix to snake, goat, and wolverine. This was far worse than a chimera. Meredith had broken one of the oldest vows of magic, never use magic to create to change a mortal life. Meredith had turned Honor into a nifling, a ghoul.  
Oddly enough, it was Scott who helped fix the hysterical ghoul. Scott had stayed in the car, having gotten tangled in the seat belt and was unaware of what had happened in the last few minutes. Not fully comprehending the situation, all Scott saw was a some sort of animal thing crying. He didn’t seem to even notice the others. He pulled something out from his back pocket and carefully made his way over to the poor critter.  
“Shhh, shhh. It alright little guy. No one is going to hurt you. Shh, it’s ok. Scotty has a treat for you.” Scott was using the voice he had picked up from helping distraught animals at the vet’s and the voice his mom used with frightened patients. Honor looked up incredulously at Scott as the boy drew closer.  
“Scott, what are you doing? get back over here.” Stiles hissed at his best friend, hoping not to cause Honor to become hysterical again. Scott just ignored him. In his outstretched hand was something brown. Honor looked insulted until Scott kneeled down in front of them.  
“I am not a dog, boy, I will not respond to such behavior.” Honor would have been believable if the ghoul hadn’t taken the treat from Scott and started gnawing on it. Strangest of all, Scott started to pet Honor.  
“There we go, you’re not so scarey are you little guy.”  
“Stiles.”  
“”yeah Derek?”  
“Why does Scott keep jerky in his pants?”  
“In case I get hungry and need a snack.”

After Honor had calmed down enough for the warders and Derek not to be on edge, Royce and Stiles removed their spells and they tried to start again.  
“Alright, let’s try this again.” Stiles turned to a sitting Honor. “Honor, we need to know what we’re up against. If you help us, I promise you I will do everything in my power to help you. Deal?”  
“Deal” The two shook hands.  
“So, before you start up with the past, let me tell you what we already know and you can add to that, ok?” So Stiles told Honor everything that Alice told him what happened and what Lydia had gotten from Marin’s files that she shared at the Stilinski house, which were the details of the attempted poaching and the results. Once Stiles was done, he turned to Honor to gage his reaction. The ghoul’s eyes were closed and their hands were pressed into them. The ghoul looked up, not with tears, but with sadistic mirth.  
“Serves those fuckers right. The lot of them thought that they were so fucking great just because they could do a few tricks and now look at them. A Questing beast? Are you sure?” Royce nodded. “That was not apart of the plan. Not at all. Meredith must of thought that if she brought a legendary monster out of the veil, she’d be hailed as some sort of legendary discoverer or something. Ha. If that girl’s brain was as big as her ego, she’d probably still be alive.” Honor got serious then,”But that still leaves the big problem of Julius. he was the best, or is the best. Everything comes easy to him and he is amazing at everything he does. Even though he wasn’t born a Caster, as a bred Caster, he could probably equal you in power Stiles.” That was not good to hear, not good at all. Stiles gulped and grimaced. He was not looking forward to this anymore. Honor continued “But he’s not the issue. Julius can be reasoned with and if you get Julius, the others will follow. No, the big issue would be Custer.”

(Beacon Hills Police Office)  
It had been a few days since Cecil had dragged the woman into the darkest cell she could find and interrogate her. At first, the Sheriff was present for the questioning but after the third or fourth day, he had to go back to protecting the town, allowing Cecil to conduct as less than legal but far more effective interrogation. After the initial hesitation and then trying to break through the woman’s feral and savage mind, Cecil had put together some semblance of a history.

  1. This woman once belonged to the Hale pack as a beta during World War II
  2. She, and the others of her pack, participated in the days of blood (That little bit of information caused Cecil to give the brute of a woman psyche shattering waking nightmares).
  3. The women were eventually captured and punished by the Hale’s emissary at the time, Evelyn Stilinski, John’s paternal aunt.
  4. Being a Spark, Evelyn severed the women from the rest of the pack and separated their human minds from the wolf, essentially making it impossible to return to society.
  5. The feral wolves were then banished, never to be allowed to return again.
  6. After years of suffering as wolves, the women slowly regained the ability to turn back into people but still retained their feral minds. Their Alpha, Tabitha Hale, Talia’s Paternal Aunt and previous Alpha of the Hale pack.
  7. They desperately wanted to return and claim their dominance on the weaker species/
  8. They thought of a plan. A druid turned them into monsters, so only another druid could turn them back (Which Cecil knew was impossible since after the days of blood, all druids were captured and had their powers bond as punishment for their betrayal towards the Caster community).
  9. After years of searching, they found someone. A young man, an angry young man who was perfect. He wanted to prove himself and the wolves had formed a plan. They told him that they could make him more powerful than any Caster alive if he (and his friends) helped them. He readily agreed.



After that, it was tricky to get any specifics. Cecil gave the woman a hard slap across the face. The woman bore her teeth and snarled. Unperturbed, Cecil slapped her again.  
“You do know that you deserve every horrid thing that happens to you, right Beth. It might be over 60 years, but this town has never forgiven you for what you and your sisters did. Hells bells, Here I thought you were dead and all this time, you’ve been cooking up a scheme to free you from this wretched body of yours.” The woman gave a feral grin, Cecil slapped her again, this time drawing blood. “But guess what, you ran into something you didn't expect. You remember Evie.” The woman snarled at the name. “Remember what she did to you and your wretched sisters. Well, she has a nephew that is capable of far greater things than she. He’s already faced down and beaten several members of your so-called pack.” Cecil gave the woman a menacing grin “You warn Tabby that whatever this plan of her’s is, she’s going to fail. Joyful picked this boy for a  reason and no matter what twisted things you promised that druid, The Governor will protect this town from the likes of you.” With a cackle at the troubled look on the woman’s face, Cecil became a black cloud and vanished into the shadows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some things I should explain in this chapter.  
> 1\. Do not put hysterical people into wrestling moves.  
> 2\. Niflings are any creature that was made from dark magic. A ghoul is similar to a Chimera but only using a human body as a starting point. (Nina from FMA: Brotherhood would be considered a ghoul)  
> 3\. Ghouls can identify anything based on their smell.  
> 4\. Stiles gets his Spark from both sides of his family. His maternal great-grandfather and his paternal great-aunt were both Sparks.


	40. They come

(Berkeley University)  
If it hadn’t been for the smell of fear and tears, Boyd would have never been able to find the boy Isaac in the lab. Despite the few days he had know the boy, it was unnerving meeting someone who didn’t actually have a natural scent to him. Everyone had some sort of scent, a natural smell that made them them, but this Isaac kid had nothing. There was nothing about him that made him stand out. As a wolf, that terrified Boyd. If Isaac was a hunter, he could very easily sneak up on a wolf and kill them without the wolf being the wiser. Boyd’s opinion of the boy did change when he saw what Isaac had done to the guy in the lab. He was one of Julius’s friends, he recognized the scent, which is all he could recognize. His face was completely ruined from the dry ice. The rancid smell of pain told Boyd what Isaac had done more than just hit him with dry ice. The guys bleeding crotch spoke of a different matter. Boyd looked up to find Isaac huddling in one corner with a small boy of about 10 or 11.  
“Hey there Isaac.” Boyd addressed the boys in a calm and soft tone as not to spook anyone else. “How are you holding up.” The smell of fear and pain and anger came from the boys, so wrapped up in each other that Boyd couldn’t tell what came from whom. Isaac jumped but relaxed when he saw Boyd.  
“Oh thank god. I thought it was going to be Julius or one of the others. They’re going to kill me for what I did.” The smaller boy looked to Isaac.  
“He got what was coming to him. You did the right thing. Alice and Rex will thank you and reward you.” Isaac looked to the boy.  
“That would be great if we all managed to get out of here. Are you sure you can’t use your magic?” Magic?! The kid was a Caster? The hairs on the bad of Boyd’s neck started to bristle. The smaller kid justed shook his head,  
“The wire keeps me from being able to do anything bigger than telekinesis which won’t do much good against the druids. I’ve been trying to get the wire off but it’s barbed and it cuts.” That last bit was directed at Boyd who noticed that Isaac's hands were bloodied.  
_He tried to get the kid loose despite knowing it was barbed. He took down a dude who had to be at least 50 pounds heavier than him despite being terrified of conflict. Who is this kid?_ Isaac shook himself and stood up. He turned to Boyd.  
“Do you have a cell phone with you?” Boyd nodded, he did. “Good, I need you to call your pack or herd or group or whatever you turn into and ask them to help.” Boyd was stunned. This kid knew he was a shifter? How was that possible?  
“Why?” Was all boyd was able to say. The small boy turned to look at the wolf.  
“Because they’re coming.” Off to one corner, a small cat like animal began to roar. The cub was calling it’s parents. Boyd called Erica.

(Beacon Hills)  
Jackson was not entirely sure what was going on but Danny rarely ever asked him for favors, so when his best friend banged on his door earlier saying he needed his help, Jackson offered him whatever he could. Whatever turned out to be his car. Jackson had a really sweet ride. It was a model not even seen in the US yet. It had everything from in car wifi, a cooler for drinks, rotating seats, tv, ac, xm radio. It was fully loaded. Usually Danny would have been thrilled to look under the hood but the sheer terror and worry on his face distracted him.  
“Dude, what’s going on?” Jackson asked as they two boys made their way out of town towards the freeway.  
“We need to get to Berkeley and as fast as we possibly can. Something is very wrong.” Usually Jackson would have asked why but this was Danny and Danny was his bro. If he said something was wrong, then Jackson had to help. It was like the bro law or something. Jackson mentally slapped himself for sounding like Stilinski and McCall but he had to admit, silently in his head where no one could hear him, they had a point. Danny was doing something tech genius related with his phone and the GPS in the car. To most people if would be fiddling but Danny had some magic with technology and electronics and he was attempting to connect his phone’s satellites to the GPS satellites. He was muttering under his breath and swearing every third or fourth word. Jackson was getting worried.  
“OK dude, you need to chill. Explain to me why we need to get to Berkeley.”  
“Isaac’s in trouble. He left me like five or six messages while I was at the Archives but that bitch of a librarian had taken my phone so I didn’t get them until I was off of my shift. That was almost an hour and a half ago.”  
“Ok, so Isaac was missing his boyfriend. No big deal.” Jackson tried to remain calm for his friend. No use getting the Caster who was messing with the hardware in his car all freaked out.  
“It’s not that simply Jax. If all it was was him missing me. He would have texted or called the Archives. No, something bad is up. Isaac never leaves more than one voicemail unless it’s absolutely necessary. Gods, I could kill that bitch for taking my phone. No wonder Royce and Allison don’t like her. If something has happened to him…” Danny started to get choked up.  
Despite his jerk-ass facade, Jackson really was a good friend. He took one hand off the wheel and started to rub Danny’s head in the way he did when they were kids and Danny started to stress. It was a comforting gesture and Danny started to relax into the feeling of the massage.  
“Thanks Jax.”  
“No probably bro. We’ll go save your D.I.D”  
“My what?”  
“Dude in Distress. Catchy right?”  
“Dude, what exactly does Lydia see in you?”

(Hale Residence)  
Erica and Eliza practically jumped down from the second floor to the first after Boyd called. Erica’s conversation with the boy called Teddy was grim, Very grim indeed. She had to go warn Talia. Marcus and Cora were still unresponsive so it was up to the non-blood betas to help fix this.  
“Eliza, I’m going out to find Laura and tell her what’s going on. Can you stay here and tell the others?” Eliza nodded and headed to the Cellar while Erica burst out the front door, sniffing for Laura’s trail. Neither woman noticed the men staring at them as they ran by them.  
Eliza practically bowled Olivia over in her rush door the stairs. Thankfully, Olivia had a lot better balance than her niece in law.  
“Child, what on earth…?”  
“Talia, where is she. I need to tell her something.”  
“She’s in the cellar. You know you can’t go down there without permission.” The frantic look in Eliza’s eyes told Olivia something far worse than Derek had just happened. “Be brief then go find Jan.” Eliza was as brief as possible then turned to find Jan. After the girl was gone, Olivia jumped the rest of the way to the cellar door and shoved it open to find a startled Deaton and an enraged Talia. Talia gave her sister a wicked grin.  
“Ah, just the woman I was hoping to see. I have something I need to discuss with you.” Completely ignoring her sister and Alpha, Olivia walked right up to Deaton and slapped him across the face. Her claws were not out but it was close. Deaton fell out of his chair with shock. Talia stood dumbfounded.  
“What the ….?”  
“Questing Beasts!?” Olivia all but shouted at Deaton. The druid flinched at the wolf, not looking her in the eye but nodded. Olivia turned to Talia.  
“Talia, I am more than aware you’re angry with me and you have every right but we have bigger issues now.”  
“What issues?” Talia asked her sister in alarm. Olivia never slapped anyone. It was beneath her. That’s why she married RJ. Olivia glared at Deaton, who gulped but didn’t raise his head. He started to whisper, loud enough for both wolves to hear.  
“The cadre took my books and research on the Heart. I had no idea they would actually try to get to it.” Talia’s mouth dropped open in horror then fury at the druid. She looked to her beta.  
“Contact as many of the families as you can. We have no idea how many will be coming through but we must stop them, no matter what.” Olivia nodded to her Alpha and ran upstairs.  
Talia turned her attention back to the figure on the floor. Her voice was soft but deadly.  
“Was this a part of the plan as well Alan? Was this another attempt at outdoing Evie? How much more will you put this family through before you are satisfied? What did Tabitha promise you?” She all but roared the last question. Deaton started to shake, the smell of urine coming from him. He was trying to respond but Talia would not listen.  
“When this is all over. I am handing you to the Governor myself and will tell him everything you have done in the name of your pride, druid, and this time you don’t have your wand.” With that, Talia spun on her heels and left the druid on the floor.

Erica had found Laura about a mile out from the house. She had been heading back to the house. She was shifted into her full wolf, a beautiful black and white creature. It was a shame that Erica had to tackle it to the ground.  
“Laura, Laura.I need to to change back. Please? The wolf started to struggle until she recognized her pack sister and froze. Erica sounded strange. It wasn’t her usual cockiness and flirtiness.  
“Laura, you keep to wake Cora and Marcus up. We’re in trouble and we need you.” From underneath her, Erica could feel Laura shifting. She got off her Pack sister as the other stood up.  
“What is happening?” Laura’s eyes were starting to show red.

(Berkeley University)  
By the time that Stiles and his party arrived at the school, it was starting to get dark and the campus was closing. Thankfully, being the Governor had it’s perks.  
“Beg pardon Governor Stilinski but you need what again?” Stiles put on his most charming smile.  
“I need directions to the biology building. You see officer..” Stiles tried to read the nametag in the dark.  
“Crepes sir.”  
“Officer Crepes” Stiles got a sharp poke from Allison “I am here to talk to one of the professors about a problem I’m working on. I know it’s late but this was the only time they could see me.”  
“It’s no problem at all Mr. Governor. All you need to do is go down this road until you come to a fork, then it’s right, left , right, right, left and right and you’re there. Did you get all that sir, did you need an escort?”  
“No thank you Officer Crepes. You have been more than helpful.” Shaking the security guards hand, Stiles made his way back to his jeep and got in, Allison right behind him. He turned to Derek.  
“And?” Derek pulled his head back in. He looked concerned.  
“He wasn’t lying about the building but I don’t think Teddy is there.”  
“If he’s not in the biology building, where else would he be?” Allison asked. They all turned to Honor. Honor gave a toothy smile.  
“Julius must be keeping him in the Magic department. It’s right next door to the biology building. They share hall ways.” Honor had given the group as much detail about the druids and their wells, sources of power, as possible. The only thing Honor asked for was a chance at Julius if possible. There was something in Honor’s eyes but Stiles didn’t ask. They had somewhat of a game plan as to what they were going to do. Get in, get teddy, and get gone and get back to Beacon Hills as soon as the cars would allow. Stiles jeep lead the way towards the direction the security officer pointed out. Berkeley was a huge school and had only gotten bigger once the state of California allowed for Magic Studies to be a department. Thankfully Derek was an expert tracker and no one got lost. It only took a few minutes to get to what looked like the right building.

Marcy Duke was staring out of the window on the third floor of the dorm when she saw the two jeeps drive past towards the biology building. She would have not thought anything of it if it wasn’t for the sight of Honor in the back seat of the front one.  
“Oh Fucking Shit.” Marcy swore out loud. Rin looked up at her girlfriend.  
“What wrong Marcy, did something happen?” Marcy was busy getting dressed, too much in a hurry to answer properly.  
“Rin, we need to hurry. We’re in deep shit if we don’t.”  
“Why?” Rin was not getting out of bed, just sitting there.  
“Honor’s here.” Rin was up in a flash, clothes flying towards her from all over the room. It took her far less time to get dressed than it did Marcy. The girls left the dorm room at a run. If Honor had been caught, then they were officially screwed. Honor would have blabbed about everything and the cadre was far too weak at the moment to fight against Born Casters. Down one flight of stairs, the girls started banging on a door.  
“Gus, get out here. We need to get moving.” They pounded on the door until the boy with green hair opened it.  
“What’s the problem?” He asked in his slow speaking voice.  
“We need to get Julius. The plan is going to happen tonight.” Marcy explained.  
“Tonight, we’re no way ready for it.” The boy responded. Marcy and Rin were getting annoyed and just him to meet them at the lab in 5 minutes or else. Gus nodded and closed the door as the girls went speeding off. Augustus took out his cell phone and hit speed dial. It rang three times before someone picked up.  
“Hello?” In a voice clear and crisp, far from the one he used with Marcy and Rin, Augustus spoke.  
“Hey little darlin, it’s me.”  
“Gus, is everything alright?”  
“Yeah, no it’s not. It seems that the plan has been moved up to tonight. Shit, look I know this is bad timing but something has got them spooked. I’ll try and hold it off as long as I can.” There was a pause at the other end. “Darlin?”  
“What about the boy?” Ah, right, the Nox.  
“I’ll try to get him out as soon as possible but it’s hard with Devon and Freebear around all the time. You need to move quickly if you can. I don’t know who’s gotten them worked up but it must be someone pretty important.”  
“Gus, please be careful. I cannot lose you.” The voice sounded commanding but Augustus knew better.  
“I will be darlin. Hey, once this is over, how about we go on that honeymoon we planned.”  
He grinned as he saw in his mind the other rolling their eyes.  
“Agreed.” and in a much softer voice “I love you.”  
“Love you more.” And he hung up, getting ready for the night he had been waiting on for 10 months.

Miles away on the border between California and Nevada, Margaret Florence nee Paige closed her phone as her warder and husband hung up. She had hated the idea of sending Auggie to spy on her sister but she had no choice. Margaret looked up from her phone over the last expanse of open land where a giant herd of herbivores grazed. This was the last stop the Herd would make before entering the Heart and if what Auggie said was true and Meredith somehow had make a tear in the Veil, then she was the last hope to stop Custer from doing irreparable harm to the world and magic in general. Yes the Questing Beasts were bad but the Casters of California could handle it, she was sure of that but if Custer succeed, all of Nature could be changed forever. She looked up towards the sky, where a full moon was beginning to show.  
Margaret began to pray.

As Stiles was getting out of the car in front of the building, he thought he heard a voice on the wind ““Please Governor, please hurry. Don’t let them win. Don’t let him win.”  
“I’ll try.” was all Stiles could say.

A few miles outside of the Town of Beacon Hills, among the old trees, a sliver of air began to form and what looked like a tear appeared. Through the tear came two massive cats looking creatures. They turned their heads towards the sky and heard the faint calling of their offspring from somewhere in this strange place. The two creatures released their own roars in response and started to run towards their child. The Questing Beasts had come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is coming towards the end. A few more chapters and it will be over. Hopefully you've enjoyed it so far. I will be releasing more Sterek centered writing in the universe along with more chapters about the other characters. Leave comments on ideas of what you would like to see and thanks for staying with me through this. I know it wasn't easy.


	41. The first fights

(Berkeley University)  
Despite everything that was happening at the moment, Stiles had to admit, the school was pretty dang impressive. He had always been told that it was one of the best schools in the country but actually being here gave him a whole new perspective. If it wasn’t the evil lair of some insane illegal druid cadre, it would have been a fun visit.  
“Stile, will you focus?” Allison hissed at him from the other side of the car. The rest of the group were already following Honor into what was apparently the magic wing of the school. Stiles blushed.  
“Right, sorry my b. Focus on the mission.” Allison rolled her eyes towards the heavens asking why as the two ran up to catch up with the others.

“Alright, from what I remember, the group liked to use one of the learning labs as the base and I believe it’s this way.” Honor pointed left but Derek was going right. “Umm… Excuse me, where are you going?”  
“This way.” Derek answered  
“Yes, I can see that but why. I just told you it was this way.” Honor pointed left. Derek nodded.  
“Sure, but Boyd id this way.” Derek pointed right.  
“Boyd? What is a Boyd?”  
“Boyd is my pack brother.” Derek was getting annoyed with all the questions. He needed to get moving to help Boyd. Honor was also starting to get annoyed when Chase stepped in.  
“Alright ladies, how about this for an idea. We split up. Half of us will go with Honor and the other half will go with Derek. Everyone agreed?”  
“No, that sounds like a bad idea. How does splitting up help us. We need to stay as a group in order to take down the others.” Honor argued. Oddly enough the three Casters gave him rather offended looks.  
“Honor, are you implying that formally trained Bred Casters are imcapable to handling a thieving group of magical hippies.” Giselle asked the ghoul “well?” Honor got the distinct impression that anything said would set off a powder keg.  
“There’s more of them then there are of you.”  
“And?”  
“And? and what? Doesn’t that make a difference to you.”  
“Nope.” Giselle popped the last “p”. Stiles and Royce nodded in agreement with the healer.  
“Fine then, it’s your funeral.” Honor mumbled.  
“Great. Now knowing this is going to sound cliche, it’s time to split up gang.”  
“I call Derek.” Stiles all but screamed as he practically glued himself to the werewolf with Allison looking like she was going to stick his head through the nearest wall.

“Derek..” Allison was bringing up the rear of the little group that went to the right, her collapsible bow ready “what exactly does Boyd look like? I don’t to end up shooting the wrong person by mistake.”  
“He’s big and muscular and a werewolf.”  
“Thank you so much. That was so helpful.” Allison’s tone was dry enough that even Derek could pick up on the sarcasm. Derek gave the warder a look which she returned. Derek grinned to himself, he liked this one. She reminded him of Jan. As werewolf and warder were busy playing chicken with their eyebrows, Stiles was snooping around the empty hall way. He had moved away far enough from the other two that he could no longer see either of them or hear them. He went peaking into the classrooms hoping to find something when he felt a very faint tingling on the back of his neck. He knew this feeling, he knew it well. Without a second thought, Stiles yelled down the hallway:  
“Allison, cover up.”

“Allison, cover up.” Stiles shout was loud enough for the warder to hear her charge. Locating the nearest classroom, Allison pulled the door open, grabbed Derek by the collar and shoved him in, following right behind him. She pulled the door shut behind her and dropped to the floor, pulling Derek right beside her. Confusion and irritation crossed his face for the rough treatment when the a blinding light filled the hallway outside.

Jacob had gone to see who or what had set off the alarms in the Magic building since it was his turn to check up on the little brat. Not wanting to get caught wandering around the place after hours, Jacob had decided to turn himself invisible. It was something he was very good. No one was ever able to find him. He had just turned the corner when he saw the other boy. He wasn’t someone Jacob recognized but from the looks of things, the kid was looking for something.  
“What does he think he’s up to. No one is suppose to be sneaking around here this late.” Thinking he was going to teach the kid a lesson and scare him shitless, Jacob snuck up on the kid.  
“Allison, cover up.” was the last thing Jacob heard before his whole world went white. He screamed.

Stiles released the light when he heard the sound of screaming and a body hitting the floor. With the light suddenly gone, the once dark hallway seemed even darker than before. Stiles turned around to find out who or what was behind him as Allison and Derek came running up. It was a boy, or at least looked like one. He couldn’t be much older than Stiles himself. The boy was on the ground, hands over his eyes screaming and sobbing. Stiles closed his eyes and ignored the sound of crying as best as he could. He could feel the other two through the bonds as they stood next to him. Searching within himself, Stiles found his magic and with a faint tug, send out vibrations of magic through him. A faint echo came from inside the boy on the floor. Stiles eyes shot open.  
“what the hell was that?” Derek asked to no one in particular.  
“Stiles, that was a pretty intense cleaning. Was it necessary?” Allison asked as Stiles eyes opened. Stiles just nodded, a frown forming on his face. The boy on the floor continued to sob. Stiles squatted down next to the boy, grabbing his wrists and pulling his hands away from his eyes. They pupils were as tiny as they could possibly be.  
“A cleaning, what the hell is a cleaning?” Derek asked annoyed. Allison squatted next to Stiles.  
“Hello, does anybody hear me? Hello, werewolf asking questions here.”  
“Stiles.” Allison asked in a cautious tone.  
“A cleaning is when I remove all magic from an area except for mine. The result is that whatever magic is being used in the area of the cleaning is permanently removed, it’s cleaned away.” Stiles tone was flat. He started to shake the boy on the ground. “Do you understand what that means…”Stiles did not wait for the boy to acknowledge the question “it means you will never be able to go invisible ever again.” The boy started to sob harder. Stiles dropped the boy and stood up. Allison grimaced at the boy but also stood up.  
“Derek, Allison, meet the first member of the druids cadre.” Stiles stepped over the boy, fury on his face. From one of the staircases, Augustus pulled himself from out of the broom closet he had been hiding in.  
“So that’s the new Governor. Well Damn, we might actually win this.”

Stiles was practically stalking through the hallways with the other two right on his heels. He had no idea where he was going but he knew he had to get away from the other boy before he did something worse then blind him.  
“Stiles what’s wrong?” Derek asked, knowing that if Stiles were a wolf, he would be ready to kill.  
“Those bastards, how dare they. How dare they use it like that… argh. When I find this Julius fellow, I’m going to make him regret ever learning the craft. I will make him regret the day he met Deaton.” Stiles was angry mumbling.  
“Stiles!” Derek barked and Stiles turned to face the wolf, his eyes shiny the faintest of silver. Both Derek and Allison took a step back from the Caster.  
“If I didn’t have a reason to want to kick these newts collectives asses before, I do know.”  
“Why?” Stiles face morphed into a sick grin.  
“Because my Der-Bear, it’s my duty as Governor to punish those who abuse the powers they possess.” Stiles turned around and continued to stalk forward. He yelled over his shoulder “Find Boyd, Derek, because chances are there are more druids with him and I want to find them as soon as I can.” Derek had never seen Stiles look so villainous before. It would have been a turn-on if he wasn’t scared shitless. He turned to Allison who looked as determined as Stiles.  
“What the fuck!”  
“Stiles possess a strange talent. We don’t know where he learned it or who he inherited from but Stiles can resonate with another Caster’s magic and see what the Caster has done with that magic.” It didn’t explain much but Derek nodded anyways.  
‘And the invisibility?”  
“Oh, well, Scott likes to do that so Stiles has learned to pick up on when someone is invisibly around him.” Allison said it with so much nonchalance that Derek barely managed to prevent gaping at her as she ran off after Stiles.”Hurry Derek, we need to meet the others as quickly as possible.”

Derek led the way up a flight of stairs towards one of the lab classroom where he could hear the sound of someone hyperventilating. The scent of Boyd was overwhelming here as was the scent on the teddy bear. He turned to face the other two.  
“Found them.” The next moment, Derek bashes through the door, shifting into his Beta form. Inside the room, Derek found himself face to face with a partially shifted Boyd in a defensive posture over two smaller boys.  
“Stand down.” Boyd’s voice was deep and full of the threat of pain. Derek blinked at his pack brother, didn’t he recognize him? Derek sniffed the air and realized that his scent had changed, it wasn’t anything too overwhelming but it was different enough that Boyd would not have recognized the scent, he probably thought that it was a rogue Alpha. Derek chuckled.  
“Why is this funny, why are you laughing Derek, nothing about this situation is funny?” Allison had followed directly after Derek and had her bow and arrow locked onto Boyd with Stiles still waiting in the hallway, silently freaking out about the whole breaking down a door, a metal door.  
Boyd looked startled, or as startled as the normally stoic werewolf would ever look. This Alpha was Derek? How was that possible? Derek continued to chuckle.  
“I’ll explain everything on the way home, don’t worry about it.” Derek shifted back and recognizing the human scent, Boyd shifted as well. The two pack brothers were about to hug when Allison moved passed both of them towards the boys on the floor. She went to the smaller of the two first. She kneeled down to eye level with the black haired boy.  
“Are you Teddy?” She asked in a calm and soothing voice, hoping to keep the situation from getting worse. She had noticed the other guy on the floor who looked unconscious. The small boy gave the warder a guarded look.  
“Who's asking?” Allison nodded her head. She had expected suspension after the way the boy had probably been treated. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the small white bear and gave it to the boy.  
“There’s a warder who’s looking for a Teddy, would you happening to know who or where we could find him?” Allison noticed the tears that had started to form in the boy’s eyes as he grabbed the bear and hugged it close.  
“How?” was all he managed to get out.  
“We’ll tell you on our way home, okay?” a shuffling sound came from the wall and Allison jumped to find Isaac trying to stand up.  
“While this is all wonderfully touching, could we please get out of here before one of the others get here!” Isaac sounded scared.  
“Yes, we don’t want to stay here for the other druids to find us.” Derek added. Isaac and Boyd looked perplexed.  
“Druids? What Druids?” Outside in the hallway, the sound of lightning crackling and broken glas filled the hall.  
“Crap, Julius’s here.”

Stiles was just getting pissed off at the this whole evening. First it was the ghoul, then it was finding out what these druids had been doing, now he was being attacked outright and he was just fed up. The druid had walked down the hall, looking like a cowboy out of one of those old westerns his dad liked and lifted his hand and a fireball, a bloody stupid green fireball shot out of it. How cliche was that. There was no originality with this people and to make matters worse, he was shooting them like guns. Stiles was not putting up with this shit. He managed to form a shield around himself and block the fireballs as they came relentlessly. The fireballs ricocheted off the shield and hit the walls leaving soot and burn marks. The druid gave Stiles a grimace as Stiles moved into position and in his very worst impersonation of Clint eastwood.  
“Bring it on you stupid Newt.” grabbing the air and moving this arm in a whipping motion, lighting from the overhead lights burst through their covering and formed a whip of electricity which Stiles used to flail against the other Caster. The druid tried to block the attacks and was able to block it until Stiles created another whip using the lights from the other side of the hallway. Fire and lightning clashed as the collided, bring an eerie light to the hall and shocking the hall. Derek and the others ran to the door to see what was going on and sound a scene from out of a fantasy novel. Derek was impressed that Stiles could use the whips so efficiently. No one noticed as Allison snuck around the boys and down the hall. The two Casters were two occupied to notice the warder or least that was what it looked like to everyone.  
“So this is the mighty Governor Spark, huh, is that all you have. I was expecting more out of a challenge out of you.” The Druid taunted Stiles when the fireballs became a stream of green fire. Stiles turned the whips into a shield to block the heat. The Fire consumed him.  
“Stiles!!” Derek was about to jump out and save the boy then a silver spark and the fire became the color of a full moon. The Druid stared back in shock as his attack went from green to silver as it consumed Stiles. “What?” Stiles voice came out through the flames.  
“I’m as strong as I am because unlike you, I don’t fight alone.” The druid looked confused until someone grabbed him by the neck and judo threw him against a wall. The druid screamed in pain and Allison slammed into into the wall with a knee in his back his head smashed into the wall. Allison spread his leg and began to frisk him. The druid gave the warder a smirk.  
“Does this turn you on as much it does me, Sugar hips.”  
“Sorry, not my type.” Allison responded coolly as she slammed the druid into the wall again, twice as hard enough to the crack the window. Looking back over the fire that was still burning, Allison called over to her Caster. “Oh cut the theatrics Stiles, I got the guy.” Almost instantly, the fireball was gone, leaving Stiles untouched by still fuming at the whole situation. Derek quickly moved over to the younger boy to make sure he was alright, worry etched into his face. That seemed to cool Stiles down.  
“Don’t worry yourself there big boy, it’s going to take a lot more than that to get under my skin… but thank you for being worried.”  
“Sorry to break up the tender moment here but that is not Julius.” Isaac said from the doorway, the teen looking a bit frayed at the events he just witnessed.  
“It wasn’t? the who was this guy?” Boyd asked

Scott was getting bored as he was waiting in the car. Sure, he understood why he was to stay with the car. he wasn’t nearly was fully trained as the others and if something happened to the car, then they were in a whole shit pile of trouble but he still thought it really unfair that he couldn’t at least be a part of the action. From the windows of the building, he could see flashes of silver light meaning that Stiles had found the druids.  
“Great and I bet it’s all cool and stuff too. Stiles gets to play Jedi knight while I have to stay in the car.”  
“Well if, you’re really bored..” A male voice came from right next to him. Scott jumped as a rather attractive man leaned on the hood of the jeep. “ I could play with you .”


	42. Second fight

(Berkeley University)  
Scott may not have been a fully trained Caster like Stiles, he only had magic since he was 13, but even he could tell there was something very wrong with the guy leaning on the hood of the car in front of him. He looked too perfect. He had perfect teeth, perfect skin, perfect hair. The only thing wrong with him was the faint shimmering around his arm. It looked like the feeling you got when your arm goes to sleep and you wake it up. Scott was not 100% sure, but he had a distinct impression that he should not get out of the car.  
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m all good here.” The perfect guy gave a perfect pout (Scott was comfortable enough with his sexuality to admit the guy was attractive).  
“Ah, that’s too bad. You see I was really hoping to meet you Mr. Governor, I’d heard all sorts of wonderful things about you.” Oh Buckets of Shits, this was bad. Perfect dude thought he was Stiles. This could end really badly if the dude decided to do something. But Scott also knew being a best bro meant you sometimes took the punch meant for the other guy.  
“I really appreciate that and I’ve heard alot about you too, but like I said, I’m good in the car. It’s got everything like AC and Sirius XM Radio. I don’t need to leave it.” Perfect guy gave him a Whitmore smile. The smile Jackson gave someone before throwing them into the lockers.  
“Who said you get a choice in the matter Mr. Governor.” The dude threw a punch at the window and bounced off of something and flew back and hit the wall of the school, hard. Scott definitely heard something break. Too bad it was just the wall and not perfect dude.

Inside the Magic building, Royce stopped moving and gave a violent shudder. The others turned around to see him shaking.  
“Babe, are you alright?” Victor moved up beside his Caster who seemed to be calming down a bit. “What happened?” Royce turned to face Honor.  
“Something just hit the shield around the cars and they hit it hard. They didn’t break it, but I’ve never felt something like that before. It was as if the shield was hit by a tectonic plate.” After Royce had stopped shaking, Honor pointed down the hall.  
“Head this way and you’ll find the lab.” Honor started running the way they just came. Victor called after him.  
“How much time should we give you?”  
“15 minutes.” And then Honor was gone. Royce gave his boyfriend a questioning look. Victor gave him one of those “A man’s got to do, what a man’s got to do” looks and continued the way they were going. Neither boy noticed Giselle staring after Honor.

The car rocked back and forth as it tried to stabilize after the hit it just endured. Sure, Royce’s shield may have prevented the car from being actually hit, but Scott remembered enough about physics to know that some of the force from the punch made it’s way through the shield. Scott was not freaking out, he had flown past freaked out and landed on terrified acceptance a long time ago. He was aware he wasn’t the best Caster here or even the strongest but he was also aware he did have a slight advantage. Claudia’s lessons on elemental magic were about understanding that magic worked the same was as nature. Magic wasn’t a game of rock paper scissors, it was about working with nature so that you could accomplish what nature could already do.  
“Alright dude, this is not the time to start panicking, that was awhile ago. Remember what Claudia said: observe then act. What do we know?” What did he know? Well, from how hard he hit, he must be using magical strength, so Earth? Earth gave strength and since it looked like the guy wasn’t wearing any shoes, that was a pretty good guess. Now what in nature is good against Earth that he was good with. He frantically looked around and saw what looked like a small forest a little ways off. Scott had a plan, maybe not a good plan since it meant leaving the protection of the car, but he still had a plan. Scott unbuckled the seatbelt and opened the car door and ran like a bat out of hell, perfect dude was right behind him.

It was extremely fortunate, Honor thought as Honor busted through the front door to see Scott running from the car, that being turned into a ghoul did not diminish Honor’s ability to run. No, he couldn’t out run a fairy but humans, humans Honor could outrun, particularly one of the few people on the planet that never managed to outrun Honor. Seeing where Scott was heading, Honor made way towards the Grinnell Natural Area.

Scott only turned back once to see perfect dude after him. Thanks to years of asthma, Scott knew that he was not a very fast runner but seriously, the dude behind him was like some sort of olympic athlete, the dude could move. Oddly though, Scott didn’t feel any constriction in his chest, nor was his breath coming out in gasps. He inhaled and the heavy scent of eucalyptus filled his nostrils. He could do this. He would not be the loser he always thought he was. He was going to win this fight because he could do this. Scott ran harder.  
“Slow down there Governor, I just want to talk. There’s no need to run away.”  
“Dude, you are a terrible liar.”  
The perfect dude let out what could only; be called a snarl and sped up but it was too late, seconds later Scott was among the trunks of the trees, his magic feeling stronger than ever. He do go this.  
“Bring it one Douche Bro, I’m gonna make sure you can’t get Stiles.” Scott whispered to himself. It might have been his imagination but he swore he could feel the trees around him thrum, like they were agreeing with him or something. Heck, stranger things had happened. He did have an affinity for life after all.  
“Hey green dudes and animal dudes, I’m going to need your help here. I’m gonna kick this guys butt, you in?” Scott gave a lopsided grin when he felt something like a yes. If Scott could have seen a mirror, he would have seen his eyes glow a deep rich green.

Perfect dude was only a few feet away, readying to kick the soon to be ex-governor’s ass then the first branch smashed into gut. The branch snapped on perfect dude’s abs but it did knock all the wind out of him. He staggered as he tried to breathe in. He managed to stumble forward, gathering power from his well to steady him when the next branch smashed into the back of his head. Filled with the power of his well, perfect dude did not falter this time but the feeling of blood running down his back told him that it had hit harder than he would have liked. He laughed, amused. The Governor wasn’t going to fight like a man, he was going to keep hitting him with sticks.  
“Is this the best you got Governor, the mighty Spark of Beacon Hills. The Man chosen to lead to the West Coast. You’re just going to keep hitting me with little sticks. You think that’s going to hurt a druid?” Perfect dude started to laugh. He laughed so hard he didn’t notice the sound of roots moving. The giant root wrapped around his torso and did to him what the hulk did to Loki at the end of the first Avengers movie. Perfect dude was then thrown into another tree, whose bark was harder than even the wall he had flewn into.  
“What the hell is going on?”  
“You shouldn't diss trees douche dro, they have feelings too and they don’t like bullies.” Perfect dude had nanoseconds before Scott nailed him in the jaw with a left hook. If perfect dude wasn’t filled with the strengthening effects of his well, his jaw would probably be broken. Wiping the small trickle of blood from his lips and spitting out bloody saliva, perfect dude stood up.  
“Not bad kid, a little more training and you might have actually done some damage to me, but let’s be real here, you can’t do shit to me. I’m stronger than you and a better fighter than you. Sure, you might have some strength but take away the trees, and you’ve got nothing. I use to think that the Governor was tough shit but you’ll practically a newborn.” Perfect dude gave him a condescending smile which oddly enough Scott returned with a happy go-lucky smile of his own.  
“You’re right douche bro, so it’s a good thing I’m not fighting by myself.”  
“Huh?” An ear piercing screech rang through the trees and perfect dude was hit by something very large and heavy. He turned around enough to see a monstrous thing leap at him from the top of a tree and slam him down into the ground. Perfect dude was horrified when he recognized the eyes of the monster.  
“Honor?”  
“Hello Julius, long time no see little brother.” Honor snarled at Julius before headbutting him.

This was not going as planned, The druid Rin thought to herself as she and Marcy ran through the halls. Julius plan wasn’t suppose to fail and it hadn’t but the Governor coming here was not part of the plan at all. Marcy and Rin had gone to the lab to get all of the equipment and to find Freebear. They had just turned a corner when Rin ran into a wall of muscle.  
“Oww.” Rin felt her nose to make sure it wasn’t broken.  
“I’m sorry miss, I didn’t see you there.” The voice was deep and rich. Rin looked up to see a young man with blue and black hair and one ear filled with piercings. He was quite handsome. “Here let me help you.” The man offered a hand and Rin took it, deciding to test her luck and charm the boy. She sent a small wave of power to try and infatuate the boy when her power hit something hard and wet. It felt like she had just bellyflopped into a nearly frozen pool. The man’s hand tightened around her’s. It started to hurt.  
“I beg your pardon miss, but I don’t appreciate people trying to delve my warder .” Rin’s eyes went wide as a tall boy came around the corner, his eyes a radiant blue. Rin screamed. Rin shoved the muscled man away into the tall one using her well. Due to the lights being out, Rin’s well of shadow was strong and Victor went flying into Royce. Rin Started to get up as the boys fell over. She grinned like a siamese cat.  
“I should warn you Caster, this will not be a pleasant experience for you.”  
“Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you.” Rin looked confused until she realized that the voice was not male. A bolt of pure light shot through the hall directly at Rin. The druid was barely able to throw a shield around herself when the light hit. Rin was horrified by the ferocity of the light. This was not just some flashlight, this light burned. It took almost everything she had to keep it from punching through and burning her alive.  
“Royce, you go one ahead, I’m going to enjoy myself here.” The muscled guy said to the tall one. The tall one, Royce nodded as he stood up. He began to move around Rin.  
“Oh no you don’t.” Rin growled and tentacles of shadow appeared from the wall to grab Royce. Something flashed and Rin saw the muscled guy cut through her shadows with what looked like an axe.  
“How?” The muscled guy just gave her a smug grin and twirled the axe in his hands.  
“The babies are blessed by powers you wouldn’t even begin to comprehend thief.” The muscled guy moved into a fighting stance and spoke over his shoulder.  
“So Giselle, how did you want to do this?” another bolt of light shot through the hallway as if in answer and Rin barely managed to dodge it.  
“What the hell?” Oh Gods no.  
“Marcy, move!” too late. Marcy screamed as the bolt hit her dead on.  
“Dark be damned. Victor, you think you can handle the Asian one, I’m going to have to handle the short one.” From the gloom, a girl about Rin’s own height with flowing red hair appeared. The muscled guy arched an eyebrow at her.  
“Why?”  
“The Asian specialized in what looks like shadows and darkness, your weapons will be fine against her, but the short one is a healer.” Instead of arguing, the muscled guy just nodded.  
“Can do.” With that, The muscled guy moved towards RIn. Something flashed passed Rin’s head as a bolt of lighting was aimed at the muscled guy. Rin looked to see Marcy standing up.  
“You stay away from her you bastard, let’s see you use those on me and see how far you get.” Blood was running down from her lips but she stared the muscled guy down. Marcy managed to hobble over to where Rin was on the floor. “You alright?”  
“I’m fine, what about you?” Marcy gave a pained laugh.  
“If that bitch thinks she can hurt me with that, she’s got another thing coming.”  
“Oh really? Well, the bitch thinks she’ll show you what she can really do.” neither druid had time to grasp what was happening before Marcy was being thrown down the hallway by her hair. The sound of ripping following her.  
“Marcy!!!” Rin screamed, trying to stand up and kill the girl who attacked her girlfriend. A flash of blue and Rin had to duck the shadow she was about to use vanishing into nothing as the axe cut it.  
“Better pay attention to your own problems Druid.” The muscled guy aimed aa swing at her head but Rin sunk into the shadows on the floor.  
“Nice try, bastard.” Rin was traveling along the walls hoping to get to Marcy when she suddenly felt very ill. She fell out of the wall, barely managing to stay on her feet. She found herself staring at the muscled guy, one of his axes embedded into the shadows on the wall, a brillant blue light coming off of it.  
“What the hell are you?” Rin screamed at the muscled guy. He gave her a smug smirk.  
“My name is Victor Chase and I am honored to be the bonded warder to one Royce Colburn, heir of the Sgiathadair of the West Coast, and most recent successor of the Skydancer magic.” The axes shined a brilliant blue that filled the hallway. Rin felt the shadow flee in the presence of that light. In front of her, the muscled boy removed his shirt to reveal the tribal markings he had worked so hard to earn. The paint glowed the same blue as the axes. For the first time since she first touched her well, Rin felt truly afraid.

Giselle knew she was going to have her work cut out for her when she felt her spell hit the other healer. The girl was capable of enforcing her body parts quickly which could be a pain but she had limits.  
“Tell me something Newt.” Giselle was the smaller girl was she stood up from where Giselle had thrown her. “What did you hope to get out of stealing druid arts and the boy and the cub. Are you really that desperate for power you’d steal it, knowing that it would only bring you trouble.”  
The girl gave her an almost feral grin.  
“You don’t know shit do you. You think you can walk in here and get answers from us just by asking. Please, don’t be so simple.” The girl punctuated the last word with a ball of lighting. Giselle managed to down it as it exploded. Giselle grimaced as she saw the damage down from the ball and really wished she was as good with shields as the boys were. If she got hit by one of those, she would be in trouble, but it did give her an idea. The girl Marcy was still talking.  
“You think just because you’re a Caster means you’re tough shit huh, attacking someone out of the blue without warning. Well let me tell you something, I’m going to pay you back double for what you tried to do to Rin.” The druid held out her hand and electricity from all of the lights gathered into it. A second later, a blast of pure electricity blasted through the hallway at Giselle. Hoping her plan worked, Giselle avoided the blast by blasting open one of the windows and landing outside. As she hit the ground, she tucked and rolled and managed to get her feet under her. Marcy come to the window with murder in her eyes. “Get back here coward.” She roared then screamed the wall crumpled around her. She fell and hit the ground, plaster falling on top of her. The druid managed to shake it off only for her to notice a faint pain in her left leg.  
“You should be more careful where you try and kill people Newt, you never know when stuff will just fall apart.” Giselle’s voice was teasing but the edge on it made Marcy see red.  
“Bitch, I’m going to rip each one of those hairs off you red and choke you with them.” Marcy tried to stand up only to find she couldn’t feel her legs.  
“Having trouble there? Ah, it looks like you might have accidentally fried your nerves with that last spell, here let me help.” Marcy tried to stand as Giselle’s eyes glowed a faint pink. Nothing happened for a long moment and Marcy throughout the bitch was just bluffing until the faint feeling in her legs went from buzzing to searing agonizing pain. Marcy screamed loud enough to wake the dead as Giselle rapidly healed all of the druids nerves in her legs past the point of being fine straight to intense sensitivity.  
“You’re a healer?” Marcy managed to get out. From the smile Giselle gave the druid, Marcy realized with dawning horror that she might be outclassed.

Scott watched as Julius and Honor wrestled on the ground. The two seemed evenly matched in skill but Julius was far better muscled and stronger and seemed to be winning but everytime he almost managed to get out, Honor twisted in some way to wrap an arm around his neck or move even out weight on one side to keep him pinned. After what seemed like forever, Julius managed to get his feet under him and pushed Honor off. Honor went sprawling into the dirt.  
“Nice Try Honor but I was always the better wrestler. Hell, I was always better at everything.” Honor just started to laugh. Julius gave the ghoul a deadly look.  
“Oh Julius, you are a fool. Better at sports yes, better with people yes. But better with magic, I think not.”  
“Excuse me.” Honor kept laughing.  
“try to feel your well dear brother.” Julius felt inside himself for his well to find it almost gone. He stared at Honor his stupefied amazement.  
“How?”  
“Trees feed on earth douche bro.” Scott all but screamed as he jumped on Julius back. Julius was much stronger than this dude even without his well but something felt wrong. He looked down to see roots twisting around his ankles and pulling him into the dirt. _No, not dirt, soil._ Julius’s face went from amazement to horror to anger to shock as he realized he no longer could use his magic. The great Julius Giver was beaten by his own pride it seemed. Scott got off of him as more roots grabbed Julius wrists. Honor managed to stand up and walk over to Julius.  
Julius gave Scott and Honor a cold smile.  
“Looks like I was beaten. You’re smarter than you look Governor.” Scott glowered at the druid but then something came to his mind. he turned to Honor.  
“Honor, you say this douche is you brother right?”  
“Yes, and?”  
“What did you look like before Meredith turned you into a ghoul?” Honor looked taken aback at the question. What did that have to do with anything. Honor looked at Julius then back at Scott.  
“Why are you asking this?” Scott smiled and took one of Honor’s hands and placed it on Julius.  
“Scott? What are you doing?”  
“I’m fulfilling my duty to my Governor by punishing one who has used dark arts for his own personal gain.” Julius looked stunned.  
“You’re not the Governor? Then why did Freebear say you were?” Something flashed through his eyes “Oh God, Oh God. I’m an idiot, a complete and total idiot.”  
“I’m not sure what is going on but how are you going to punish Julius Scott.”Scott spoke in a voice that sounded like wind through trees.  
“I’m giving you what you truly deserve Honor. Everyone deserves a second chance and and I’m granting you yours.” Scott’s eyes glowed a fierce green and Honor felt something tug. A sense of total freedom filled the ghoul as the world started to disappear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a few more chapters.  
> The fight for Beacon Hills won't be in this work but in the other one I'm writing.


	43. Trouble moves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles get's taken. Shit is about to go down.

(Berkeley University)  
Royce felt kinda put out as he ran through the hallways looking for the right lab room. Everyone else was having epic battles and here he was running away from it. True, this was kinda the point of having a warder but Royce felt like he was missing out. Still, from what Honor had told them in the car after the initial freak out, his skills were best put to use trying to undo whatever the druids were up to. (He’d never admit it to anyone, especially not Chase, but he was terrified of fighting. Neither fae magic nor the Skydancer magic were particularly useful indoors or actually hurting people). Hearing a sound up ahead, Royce slowed his footsteps and used the hunting techniques he was taught as a child to creep along to the last door on the right. Even without using his witch sight, Royce could see the magic on the door.  
“Why don’t they just paint a giant ‘DO NOT ENTER - MAGIC PRESENT’, it would be about as conspicuous.” The sound was getting louder as Royce approached. Ducking down, Royce peered into the small window next to the door to see total darkness.  
“Well, at least they're not stupid enough to leave the lights on.” Creeping to the door, Royce lifted a hand slowly to the door. He felt a small shock from the doorknob. Pushing a little harder, the shock became a buzzing. More pushing and the buzzing became an electric shock. Royce pulled his hand away as small bolts of technicolored lighting connected his hand to the thing in front of him. Royce cocked his head, intrigued. He had never come across something like this outside of his visits to the reservations.  
“One of these newts is not like the others.” The sounds from before were getting more frequent. Looking over his shoulder, Royce checked to make sure no one was about. Seeing nothing, he stood up to face the door. Cracking his knuckles, Royce walked backwards to the other side of the hallway, a good 15 or so feet away. Taking a few deep and calming breathes, Royce twisted and stretched, loosening himself up for what he was about to do. After feeling a good crack, he faced the door again. There was no spell or magic incantation. There was no flowing his hands about or embracing his magic. This was all about him and nothing else. He ran straight into the door.

  
The sound of something heavy being smashed resounded down the hallway as Royce pushed himself through the web of power blocking the door. As the grandson and great-grandson of Indian Shamans, he was familiar with the webs used to trap magic. It was similar enough to a ward that he could of tried to untangle it, but the amount of time and energy that would require were not things Royce could waste. Stiles needed him to do this as quickly as possible and a head on charge was as quick as he could manage. It hurt like a son of a bitch though. It was like crashing through a wall entirely made up of solidified electricity mixed with shards of diamonds. Whomever had made this, and Royce had a very good guess after Honor told him the names of the Druids, was not particularly good at it. Sure it hurt, but it had far too many holes in it to be very stable. Using the tackling technique his dad had showed him when the man still hoped his son would be able to play football, Royce broke through the web and ran into the door, breaking through it and into the room. The sound of squealing could be made out far more easily now. Shaking his head to get rid of the nausea and dizziness, Royce looked around to find a funny looking man tied up and bleeding on a nearby table. The man was bound and gagged and desperately trying to free himself. Slowly getting to his feet as to not fall over, Royce made his way to the tied up man. All across the table were books and pictures and diagrams of what looked like a massive magic circle. Royce snapped his fingers and a pale blue light filled the room, giving him a much better idea of what he was looking at. The sight hurt his eyes. Everything, including the man in the center, was blinding with magic. All of the ink glowed with it with a sickening dark color and made the dizziness in Royce’s head worse. Looking up to the man, Royce grimaced as he looked over what was holding the man. Black chains that looked to be made of infected blood squeezed the man hard. The man’s eyes locked onto Royce’s and Royce could feel the pain coming from him.  
“Don’t worry, I’m going to help you.” Ever so carefully, Royce reached out and grabbed hold of the chains. Reaching deep inside himself, he found the part of his magic that was his inheritance from his father’s grandmother. Roye called on this bright light and the light answered.

On the other side of the building, Allison was busy tying up the druid while Teddy told the others what had happened to him, the boy never letting go of his bear. During his story, the wolves had grown very growly anger filling their eyes. Both, though, were nothing on Isaac whose eyes were filled with so much fury that even Talia would have been impressed. Derek kneeled down in front of the boy.  
“Don’t you worry about anything. We’re going to make sure that nothing like that will happen again, we’re going to take down those responsible, right guys?” Everyone voiced their agreement except Stiles. “Stiles? Right?” Stiles did not answer. Derek turned to see the Caster facing the face they had just come, a peaceful look on his face, a look like he was basking in a spring day. Looking over at Allison, Derek saw she had a look of peace and serenity on her face, despite the crushing force she was applying to the bastard druids back. Feeling inside himself, Derek felt nothing until he pulled at whatever feeling was connecting him to Allison. Closing his eyes in concentration, Derek felt it. It was faint, almost not there, but it was. It was something he had known only one other time in his life, an echo of a memory.  
“Dude, are you alright?” Derek heard Boyd ask him. Derek couldn’t answer because he honestly wasn’t sure.  
“What is this?” Derek hadn’t realized he had said it outloud until Stiles answered.  
“This is what made Joyful such a splendid Governor, Derek. This is her Magic, her family’s Magic. This is the Magic of the Skydancer: The power of a blue moon.” Almost without a pause, Stiles started running in the direction of the feeling.

Victor Chase had never felt anything like this before in his life. It was beyond anything he had ever felt in his life except maybe for when Royce bonded him as warder. Victor could feel his connection to Royce growing stronger and more solid. A feeling like music coursed through him. When Royce had bonded him, he saw the power his boyfriend wielded but he had only had a tiny glimpse of this. Without looking, Victor began to dance.  
Rin was horrified. Just a few moments ago, she was starting to get up the upper hand on the guy but then there was the should of shattering stone and then suddenly this guy began like 10 times stronger. His axes sliced through each one of her shadows and the faint light emitting from the tribal marking on his skin made it hard for her to get too close for a physical attack. Spell after spell, attack after attack, each time she thought she had him, he would cut through with those damned axes. What stung the worse was that he bastard had his eyes closed the whole time. What had happened? what was going on? Was the this power of a Caster. No! she would not accept this! She had given up too much to get here, hurt too many people, done too many things she could not take back for it to all be ruined here. She had to succeed, she would succeed, She must succeed. In the back of the druids mind, a tiny voice sounded underneath all the confidence and determination. “If you lose, you die.” Rin gathered up all of her power in front of her. She was going to finish this once and for all. A giant mass of dark energy gathered in front of her, aimed straight at Victor. A wicked grin crossed the druids face. For some reason, maybe the feel of impending doom, the bastard had stopped moving. It wasn’t until the beast attacked her did she find out why.

Victor opened his eyes to find the druid underneath a giant red wolf, it’s fangs bared and very close to the druids throat. The woman had the sense not to scream but the look of abject horror on her face and the faint smell of urine told that it might not have been due to bravery. Chase knew that the wolf was coming when he heard it’s paws running and knew on his side and that he had no reason to fear it. He walked over and knelt beside the druid’s still body, one of his axes swinging from his hand. He gave the druid and hard stare.  
“Now you and I are going to have a little chat..” Before he could get to question, Royce’s voice flooded his head in a panic.  
“Victor, get to Stiles! NOW!”

Royce’s battle against the chains had left him feeling buzzed, like he had just consumed a gallon of pure sugar and mountain dew. The chains had not wanted to yeild to the power Royce threw against them but there were no shamanic arts that could overcome the power of the blue moon, no matter how vile and corrupted they might be. Lighting in black and blue had filled the room, shattering lamps and tables and equipment but eventually he had won. The papers on the table had been scattered to the floor. The funny looking man had needed no help getting the gag out of his mouth or sitting up. In fact, he seemed quite more spritely than Royce at the moment. In fact, the man was hugging him, hard. Very hard.  
“Oh, thank you thank you thank you. I didn’t think anyone was going to find me until one of the students had come to check on things.” Letting Royce go, the man began scanning the papers on the floor. “Now then we must hurry. Now where is it. I swear I saw it when Custer tied me up.”  
“Umm… excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but what is going on?” Royce was still feeling the buzz and didn’t trust himself to try and move. The funny looking man looked up from his position on the floor as he was searching for papers and bopped himself on the head.  
“Oh how silly of me. My name is Professor Nicely and I teach magical biology alongside Dr. Carson. Now we must hurry before Custer is allowed to get away.”  
“What are you talking about sir?” Professor Nicely looked up at Royce who was still just standing there. Instead of answering, Professor Nicely seemed to have found what he was looking for and handed it to Royce. Royce read over the paper quickly and his face drained of all color as he finished. Looking back down at Professor Nicely, Royce tried to talk, a quiver in his voice. “Sir, what is this Custer’s person name.” Nicely did not look up as he answered and Royce fell to the floor. Using the ward bond, Royce sent Victor after Stiles, hoping his boyfriend was fast enough.

Stiles had always wanted to see Skydancer magic in action but Royce told him that he couldn’t use it like his other magics, he could use it in the presence of other shamanic arts and Joyful simply told him that he had no need to see it and it wasn’t all that spectacular, but Stiles disagreed. What could not be awesome about the power used to unify all of the Native Americans tribes of the West Coast. Almost as soon as it had come, it had stopped. Stiles lowed down, disappointment on his face.  
“And I bet it was really awesome too.” Stiles sulked.  
“Don’t worry Governor,” A deep voice came from out of nowhere “I’m going to show you something equally as spectacular and you’ll get a front row seat to it too.” Stiles felt the trap before he saw it but it was too late. The chains of black blood like substance wrapped themselves around his legs and arms, dropping him to the ground. Stiles tried to break the chains, but using magic on them made him sick and dizzy.  
“What are these?”  
“Don’t struggle too much Mr. Governor, wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself. It took me a long time to make those chains and I don’t want all my hard work to amount to nothing.” Out from the shadows, a tall man with wide shoulders and thick black hair stepped in front of Stiles. He bore a very faint resemblance to someone Stiles knew but couldn’t place it. Stiles gave his meanest glare to the druid, a combination of his mother, father, and Allison. The man just laughed and proceeded to pick Stiles up like he weighed nothing and moved to the door.  
“Derek, Allison, somebody, help.” Stiles screamed at the top of his lungs just as his father taught him to do when someone tried to kidnap him.  
“Scream all you want, they can’t do much to save you now.”  
“Wanna bet.” Something emitting a strong blue light flew through the air and hit Stiles. Instead of cutting Stiles, the axe severed the chains wrapped around Stiles arms. Another axe hit the tall man right in the back of the shoulder, causing the man to let out a deep bellow and stumble, but he did not drop Stiles. From where Stiles was over the man’s shoulder, he could see Victor running towards him at full speed. Sensing the magic from before, Stiles tried to warn Victor not to come any closer but it was too late. The black chains wrapped themselves around Victor forcing him to the ground. The tall man gave a smirk over his shoulder before Stiles grabbed the axe still embedded in it and sent his power through. The chains made it difficult to use his magic but like hell was he going down without a fight. The man bellowed a roar of fury and pain as magics of the blue and silver moon coursed through him. Thinking the man might drop him, Stiles found himself being slammed hard against the ground, his head hitting the floor with a dull thunk, causing the boy to black out.  
“Stiles.” Voices were coming from down the hall and quickly. Too quickly for the man’s liking. He picked up the now unconscious spark and headed out the door, blood trailing from his shoulder. He had work to do.

Fire and lightning danced in arcs and patterns as the two healers battle each other. Marcy had given up trying to run away, her legs far too sensitive for her to move them. She figured her best bet was to simply knock the other girl out, thinking her lighting magic could easily overpower the others light based magic. Marcy was stunned stupid when Giselle started making flames of technicolored brilliance. Healers weren’t suppose to be able to use fire. It was unheard of. Giselle simply said it was a benefit of having a wild wizard as a mother, the rules didn’t apply to her. For every bolt marcy sent, Giselle blocked it with a wall of flame or dodged it. Giselle knew this was a fruitless battle as neither one of them could continue using only attack spells for very long, the downside of healing. Before the druid could cast another spell, an immense feeling of power rocked through the ground, coming straight out of the nearby grove of trees. The sound of horrified screaming followed it. Despite her pain, Marcy started running in the direction of the grove.  
“Excuse me, but we are in the middle of something.” Giselle called after the druid then she felt it. It was Scott, and he was doing something either incredibly awesome or remarkably stupid, either way it was far beyond his ability. Giselle turned and ran, hoping she wouldn’t be too late to keep the boy from killing himself. As she was in much better condition than the druid, Giselle was able to easily overpass her while giving the other girl a double shot of the bird. The druid growled before tripping over her own feet. She hit the ground hard as Giselle made her way into the grove.

Giselle was not expecting what she found. Standing only about 10 feet in front of her was Scott, glowing a fierce green. As green as the trees and grass in the height of spring. The amount of power he was producing was frankly more than she thought the boy would ever be able to use and it honestly impressed her. That feeling was short lived however as Scott was falling to his knees, the power around him flickering out like a lightbulb about to burn out. Oh that was bad. Really really bad. Stiles would never forgive her if she let his bro burn himself out. She ran to the boy and was surprised when someone else caught him. Without taking her eyes off of Scott, thus ignoring the anyone else around them, she grabbed the boy’s face in her hands and channeled her power into him, keeping the power going but also healing any damage done to the boy. Soon, the flickering green aura steadied itself again and slowly became dim as it was reigned back to a safe level. Soon, only Giselle’s rose colored aura surrounded both her and Scott. Only once Scott’s magic was under control did she release him. Scott’s eyes fluttered open.  
“Oww. my head hurts.” Giselle released a sigh, then smacked Scott hard in the head. The boy flinched.  
“What on God’s Green Earth were you attempting McCall? Don’t you know you could have burned yourself out or even killed yourself? Hmmm?”  
“These no need to be rough with him Healer, he was doing me a great service.” A deep voice sounded next to her. Only then did Giselle look up at her surroundings. On the next next to her was the Ghoul, on the ground weeping hysterically and in front of her was the most handsome man she had ever met. Meeting the man who had caught Scott eye’s, she finally understood what Royce had met after the first time he met Victor. This man was to be her warder, she knew it in her bones. Scott managed to right himself and get up. he looked so pleased with himself.  
‘You do you feel Honor?” The man, Honor, this was Honor, did not drop his gaze from Giselle but moved into a kneeling position in front of her.

 

Outside of the grove, Marcy was trying to stand herself up when a large bear paw of a hand grabbed her hair and yanked her up. She turned to glare only to find herself staring at an enraged Freebear.  
“You have all failed but we aren’t done yet. I’m finishing this and you’re going to help or I’ll give you to the wolves myself, understand.” Marcy nodded, it was all she could do, the pain in her legs now overcome by the pain in her neck.  
“What do you need from me?” She asked, afraid of the answer. They had all failed? What about Julius? What about Devon? Gus? What happened to Rin?  
“You’re going to heal me and keep our guest here alive.” It was only then did Marcy notice the boy hanging lifeless from Freebear’s other shoulder. Marcy stared in wonder and horror at the boy. Despite being totally unconscious, she could still feel him working some kind of magic. Freebear tugged at Marcy’s hair to get her moving and the two druids moved into the shadows, neither noticing the Green haired warder watching them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There should only be about three or four more chapters after this.  
> Thanks for sticking with me this whole time. You've all been great and really patient.


	44. The Chase

(Berkeley University)  
As Danny and Jackson approached the university, they were almost driven off the road by an old school jeep driving way too fast. Jackson was able to dodge it and stick his head out of the window and scream profanities at the car as it drove away. Neither boy was paying too much attention to the passengers. Thanks to Danny’s tracking of Isaac’s phone, the two were able to find him at the Magic Building. Before Jackson could put his car into park, Danny was jumping out of the vehicle running towards the building only for Isaac to come out of the door and running towards him. Jackson, as well as Danny, assumed Isaac was running to meet his boyfriend and Danny held his arms wide open to catch Isaac in an embrace only for Isaac to run directly past him and towards two cars parked not to far away. Jackson and Danny probably both had the same stupefied look on their faces which was replaced by mild terror as more people came running out of the building, in front an enraged looking werewolf and in front of him, Demon lord Allison Argent herself.  
“Let’s move it, come one people. The sooner we get going the faster we can caught up to them.” Jackson heard Allison shouting at the others. Danny turned back to look at his best friend with a look of complete confusion on his face. Jackson returned the look with one of his own. What in the Hell was going on.

“Where are Giselle and Scott?” Allison asked as she tried to open the door to Stiles jeep. It was not budging. Stupid piece of crap. Stiles should have tossed it months ago. Hell he shouldn’t have even bought it in the first place. Allison was all too ready to let Derek have a go at it and just rip the damn door off, when a pair of hands pried her away from the door.  
“Allison, it’s locked. You need to use the key.” Royce’s voice was not patronizing, he knew better than that. He was being reasonable, she knew that but they did not have time for her to be reasonable. Stiles was in danger and the farther away he was, then more danger he was in. Allison turned to face the Caster to see Victor and the wolf Boyd trying to hold Derek back from the car. From that weird strange feeling in her chest that pointed to him, the warder knew the wolf was just as worried and angry as her. How Stupid could Stiles have been to go wandering off alone. This was the whole point of having a warder; to always have your back. Instead of replying to Royce, she did the next best thing.  
“Derek, I need your fist.” her voice was ice filled with magna. Derek looked at her and nodded, ripping himself away from the two holding him. Allison wasn’t strong enough but Derek was and with a signal shot, Derek punched through the driver’s side window and unlocked the car.  
“Or you can do that.” Royce said looking down at the broken safety glass at his feet. Allison turned from the car and in her most authoritative voice; screamed;  
“Giselle, Scott, you have five seconds before we leave you.” From a little ways off, in the direction of a stand of trees three figures came running, the largest of the three carrying something over their shoulder. Giselle screamed back;  
“Just start the damn car already.” Allison smirked.

Teddy tugged on Isaac’s shirt causing the older boy to look at him.  
“Yes?” Teddy pointed to Danny who was just standing in the grass looking confused.  
“I think you missed him.” Teddy said in a dead panned voice. Isaac flushed and ran towards his boyfriend. Danny smiled as Isaac ran towards him, happy to see him alive and well. instead of the the hug we was expecting, Isaac ran around him and started pushing him in the direction of the cars.  
“Ummm...Isaac?”  
“No time, Stiles has been kidnapped by evil druids and we need to save him now so please move faster.” Being the good boyfriend that he was, Danny did not ask questions but did point out Jackson still in his car.  
“Can he help?”  
Jackson was startled when Isaac, Danny, and a small boy of about ten made their way to his car. Danny opened the back of the car for Isaac and the boy and got in the passenger side himself. Turning to his best friend, Jackson indicated the newcomers.  
“Care to explain?” the boy answered.  
“The Druids have kidnapped the Governor in hopes of using him as a way to steal the magic of the Nemeton and make themselves full Casters. Can you please follow the blue jeep. The lady warder will leave us behind if you don’t.” Jackson looked up to see a blue jeep leaving the school like a bat out of hell. Jackson stepped on the gas to follow.

(Stiles jeep)  
Allison was the much better driver and had the authority of a full warder, meaning that they wouldn’t get pulled over for speeding and besides, Derek needed to follow Stiles scent, which is what Derek kept telling himself as they drove after the bastard druid who attacked and kidnapped Stiles. Neither of them could blame Victor for not stopping the druid, neither of them were there and he was. That didn’t stop them from having the feelings of dread, despair and rage coursing through them. Derek had to admit to himself, Allison was quite impressive when mad. She felt it the moment Stiles had been attacked and ran after him at full throttle after shoving the druids head through the nearest window. Even through the maze of hallways, she was able to find her way without a moment's hesitation. Her protective instincts would have made her a fine wolf. His own wolf was howling in pure rage. How dare someone lay hands on and hurt something that was his. He would rip that bastard to shreds with his teeth when he got him. There would be no mercy and he could tell that Allison felt the exact same way. The sound of ringing came from the radio and Allison flipped on the bluetooth.  
‘What?” Royce’s voice came through.  
“He’s heading back towards Beacon Hills. I can feel the tomahawk still.”  
“Are you sure?”  
“Really?” Royce was not amused by the question. Allison was not amused by the answer.  
“Royce, I do not have the patience to handle this. Stiles is in danger and We are being left behind. Are you sure?” Royce let out a puff of air, but continued, his voice much more controlled.  
“Yes I am sure. But there is something else and it’s important.”  
“What? What else is there that could be more important.” Derek all but snarled.  
“Watch it wolf.” Chase’s voice came through, irritation and protectiveness coming through. Royce took the phone back.  
“Allison, I sensed the magic when Chase hit the druid with the tomahawk.”  
“Ok and..”  
“Allison, you need to be calm right now or else things will go very badly for Stiles.” Derek could tell it was a struggle for Allison to calm herself but she managed to do it. Derek didn’t think he would have been able to.  
“I’m calm. Go ahead Royce, tell me what I need to know.” Royce told them and Allison slammed on the brakes, hard, a look of sheer astonishment on her face. It took a few seconds for her to compose herself.  
“I’m sorry, can you repeat that for me?” Royce did and Allison got out of the jeep. Derek followed, not sure he understood. The Car behind them, being driven by Chase stopped right behind them, almost running into them. Allison stood there as the others got out of the car. The other car following them stopped as well and the blonde frat boy looking guy poked his head out of the window.  
“What the hell? Aren’t we in a hurry?” Allison ignored him and moved over to Royce.  
“Please tell me you’re not serious. I need you not to be serious.” Royce looked pained but answered the same.  
“I’m sorry Allison, but I felt it. The druid who kidnapped Stiles is an emissary, I felt his pack.” Turning to Derek, he gulped. “And they felt like him.”

(Beacon Hills)  
Despite the sounds of fighting filling her ears, Cora picked up the sound of her cell phone going off. It was Take Me On from Glee, meaning the call was from her Brother.  
“Derek? You’re alive?”  
“What. of course I’m alive? Never mind, where are you?”  
“Well excuse me for worrying about you dear brother, it’s not like I can feel you or anything, and I’m in Beacon Hills, where else would I be?”  
“Cora, is mom or dad or any of the aunts nearby? This is extremely important.” Derek’s voice was soft. Derek only spoke that like then something was a matter of life or death. She heard it a few times when he told stories about his work as a volunteer firefighter on the East Coast. Cora looked around her but couldn’t find any of her pack. She could find a red haired woman who seemed to know what was going on, and despite not knowing the woman, Cora didn’t have many choices. Tapping the woman on the shoulder, Cora met a pair of brilliant blue eyes shining like liquid fire.  
“Yes Were, can I help you?” Her voice had a soft southern accent to it. Under different circumstances, it would have been nice to listen to more.  
“Yes actually, my brother needs help.” Cora held up the phone and put it on speaker. “Go ahead Derek.”  
“Stiles has been taken by an emissary.” To Cora’s surprise, the Caster's eyes bulged, making the blue of her eyes shine brighter. Her voice was that of a woman who could handle difficult situations without panic.  
“Name?” The sound of the phone being tossed came from the other end. A new voice answered.  
“Freebear Custer.” The woman let out what Cora assumed to be a curse in a language she did not understand. The phone was tossed again and a third voice came through.  
“Mama, he’s being taken to the Nemeton isn’t he. Is there anything you can do from there?”  
“I’ll see what I can do, but with the mess things here are in, that might not be much.”  
“We won’t make it to Beacon Hills in time Mama, we’re going to need to pass through.” The woman nodded and swore again. Looking up at Cora, the woman spoke in a strained voice.  
“I wish you didn’t but you don’t have much choice do you, of course not. Royce, get as close to Beacon Hills as you can and I’ll have your father call you. Be safe and I love you.” The other end died. Looking at Cora, the woman addressed the young wolf.  
“Your Talia’s girl.” It was more statement than question but Cora nodded. The woman continued. “This might be the only chance your family has of redeeming themselves so listen to me carefully.” Cora nodded. “Out there in that mess is a man called Yvan, chances are he’s looks like a Native American James Bond and a woman called Cecil, she looks like a china doll flapper.” images of two people popped into Cora’s mind and what they smelled liked. Cora nodded, following but not understanding. “Find them and as many of the women in your pack and tell Yvan and Cecil to take you to the Herds.”  
“The Herds?” The woman held up her hand to stop Cora from asking any questions.  
“You must be quick and lead the herds to the Heart.” An image of a great old tree taller than any she’s seen before entered her mind, it’s location imprinted on her brain. “Be swift wolf, you may be the only one who can save our Governor and your family and GO!” and with that Cora ran as hard as she could.

(Unknown Jeep, somewhere between Berkeley and Beacon Hills, the woods)  
Stiles felt fuzzy, like the whole of the world around him was made out of lint and cotton. He tried to sit up but that made him want to vomit so he didn’t do it again. He had no idea where he was but it was bouncing and shaking something awful. A faint tingling ran across his head but that made him nauseous and he wanted it to stop. Stile let out a groan.  
“keep him quiet can’t you.”  
“maybe if you hadn’t thrown him about like the hulk, he wouldn’t be like this in the first place.”  
The voices were too loud and Stiles wanted them to be quiet so he could sleep. His head was killing him and the tingling wouldn’t stop. Strangely, the tingling did make his other hurts stop throbbing. That was nice. somewhere in the back of Stiles mind, he knew he was being healed but It wasn’t a feeling of warmth like fresh cookies, so it wasn’t Giselle. Then who…  
“Please lie still Governor, your wounds are bad and I’m not skilled enough to deal with head trauma.” The voice was low and soft and not Giselle at all. Something was very wrong but Stiles couldn’t concentrate enough to focus. The place Stiles was laying bounced hard and Stiles felt his body lift into the air.  
‘Gods Damn you to the ninth ring Freebear, do you want to kill us before we even pass the veil.” the soft voice said. The other voice just growled. A third voice came from somewhere, it was much softer than the others and Stiles couldn’t tell where it was coming from.  
“Take the axe, it will help.” it sounded like a whisper from a memory of a dream. Stiles tried to repeat it but all that came out was “...axe?”  
“What did he say.” the loud voice growled out. The growly voice hurt. It wasn’t like Derek’s growl at all. His growl was sexy and warm. This growl was painful and sharp.  
“He sound axe? What axe?” A second later, the sound of tearing and of screaming, harsh screaming.  
“Damn you healer, warn a guy.”  
“Shut up, and drive.” Stiles felt something cold and hard was placed next to Stiles. Something inside of Stiles glowed as the cold hard thing was pressed to him. Something inside him was humming. The feeling of nausea went away almost immediately and the pains in his body lessened. The fuzziness wasn’t gone but it was better.  
“Keep your eyes closed but feel around you. They can’t help if you don’t know where you are.” The strange voice from a dream said again. Stiles obeyed. Keeping his eyes closed, He let out the smallest pulse of magic so help him locate himself. He was moving, very quickly, so in a car? that sounded right. The bumps meant that they were going over rocks? So in a car driving off road. Ok, he could do this.  
“YOu better buckle up, we’re getting close to the veil.” The car started to move faster and someone lay on top of Stiles, shielding him?  
“If you cause us to crash Freebear, I’m going to castrate you.”  
“Don’t worry about me and make sure our guest stays alive and well enough to do what we need him to do.” The growly voice said. There was something in his voice. Anticipation? Nerves? Stiles couldn’t concentrate enough to tell but he did recognize one word: Veil. They were closing in on the veil. Stiles pulled the cool hard thing closer to him and sent out a single signal through the bond.

Allison and Derek felt the pull on the bond almost at the same time. Allison felt it first and stronger but Derek felt it. They both ran for the car and jumped in, shifting from park to drive.  
“Royce, you ride with us.” Allison barked to the Caster and he complied, leaving the others to get back into Giselle’s car.  
“Jackson, keep heading for Beacon Hills with Teddy and tell Alice You’re Welcome.” and with that, Allison turned the wheel and headed straight off road and into the woods, Giselle’s car following.

Jackson had no idea what was going on when the two cars in front of him started going off road.  
“Shouldn’t we follow them?” he asked Danny who shrugged. Isaac and the boy, Teddy, had explained as much as they could about what was going on and Jackson could follow none of it. A ringing coming from Danny’s pocket told him someone was calling. Danny took it out and answered:  
“Hello? ok, one second.” Danny placed the phone on speaker. “Ok Lyds, you’re on speaker.”  
“Danny, Jackson, get here now. Bad things are going down at home and we need you here.”  
“What About Stiles?” Jackson asked. He may not like the boy put he was still the Governor, wasn’t he. Lydia sounded like frustrated and Lydia never sounded frustrated, she was always in control.  
“We can’t do anything about that right now but you can bring Teddy back and you can help your town. Once we manage to do what we can, then we’ll focus on helping Stiles.” With that, Lydia hung up and Danny and Jackson shared a look and looked into the back seat, where Teddy was comforting a trembling Isaac.  
“He’s worried about the mess we made back at the school and if he’s going to keep his internship.” A knocking on the window caused everyone to jump. Jackson rolled his window down to meet one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.  
“Excuse me gentlemen but could you tell me where my Daughter and her friends are heading?”

Royce had just gotten off of the phone with his dad. His mom must have given the man the quick and dirty version as the man was severe reservations about telling his son about that particular kind of magic but there was no time. Stiles life was in danger and all of Magic too. If the emissary got there before they did, horrible things were going to happen. The ward be had placed around the car meant that things like rocks and trees didn’t stop the car, it just blazed right through them. Royce looked up to see almost identical looks on Allison and Derek’s faces. Both of them were set on finding and rescuing Stiles no matter what. They were both protective and possessive of the Caster and would not stop until he was safe. Both of them were predators on the trail of prey and would not, could not stop until that prey was down. They were on a chase, one they could not lose.


	45. Run

(Inside the veil)  
Stiles wasn’t entirely sure whether or not the people, well druids, knew about the guy in the trunk but he was more than fairly certain that mentioning it to them would be a bad idea since the guy in the trunk didn’t know that Stiles knew he was there and if he was with the druids, he would have been riding in the jeep proper instead of hiding. The possibility that he could help Stiles was there but Stiles head still hurt enough that thinking about it was painful. The axe, or more accurately tomahawk, did help a bunch but it wasn’t designed for healing and the effect had its limits. It was nice, though, knowing that if worse came to worse, he could at least defend himself with something besides magic. Stiles knew the moment that the jeep had crossed the veil as his magic flared so strongly inside of him that he thought he might explode. He knew from the lectures his mom gave him that magic worked differently inside of the veil than outside of it. It became wilder, more frantic and the stronger you were to the elements, the wilder it became. As A spark, Stiles could literally feel every rock and tree and bush and flower that they passed. He felt the damage the car did to the pristine wildlife. He could also tell the damage said wildlife was doing on the jeep and he didn’t need his magic for that.  
“Come on, damn you piece of junk, work.” The grizzly voice snarled at the car. He tried hitting it but that did nothing. The jeep continued to jump and weave and stop and start as it chose. It reminded Stiles of the Weasley’s car in the second book. He wouldn’t be too surprised if it started to drive itself at any moment. A jarring thump, probably a rock, caused the jeep to stop completely. The grizzly voiced roared in rage and fury. The soft voice screamed and Stiles felt the trunk open up.  
“Gods damn it Freebear, what kind of shit vehicle did you steal?” The soft voice screamed at the grizzly voice. Freebear, why did that name sound familiar. Honor had mentioned a Freebear but it had sounded familiar even back then. Stiles felt he should know that name. That it was something that he told himself to remember but forgot.  
“Why don’t you ask your dike girlfriend Marcy, it’s hers.” The grizzly voice said before the sound of slapping flesh.  
“Don’t you ever call her that again you bastard son of a bitch.” The soft voice, Marcy, said in a lethal tone. Stiles pulled the tomahawk closer, getting ready to flee if he could when the sound of slamming doors and more yelling followed. Stiles held his breath, not waking to make a sound when the door closest to his feet opened very quietly. A very soft voice spoke.  
“Come with me Mr. Governor. I’m here to help.” Stiles opened his eyes to find a very well built young man with full sleeves of tattoos up and down both arms and vivid green hair. Stiles began to move but searing pain lanced up and down his back. Stiles tried not to cry out, but his eyes filled his tears. The man grimaced and tried to shush Stiles.  
“Blast that damn midget, she can’t do anything right can she. Alright Mr. Governor, I’m coming around to the other side to help. Please try to stay quiet.” The man then moved around to the other door, the one next to Stiles’ head and open it quietly. The sounds of screaming could be heard. The druids were angry about something Stiles couldn’t quite make out. Stiles felt, more than saw, the young man reach under Stiles’s armpits. He knew this drill and relaxed his whole upper body while readying his legs for running. The young man smoothly pulled Stiles out of the jeep and away from behind a tree. Once they were behind the tree, the young man positioned Stiles in a propped up position and gave him a small bow.  
“Greetings Mr. Governor Stilinski, my name is Augustus Florence and I’m…”  
“A warder.” Stiles answered, his throat felt dry and painful. He tried to swallow but wasn’t able to. Augustus gave him a questioning look. Stiles tried to grin but knew it came off wrong. “I felt you, or more likely, I felt you bond. You’ve been pulling on your bond since we entered the woods.” Gus smiled. It was a bit crooked but that only added to his appeal. Whomever bonded him was a lucky witch. His face then morphed into all business.  
“Your friends should be following us but I don’t know if they can pass through the veil and find us before the others do. I will protect you to the best of my ability Governor but despite my more than excellent skill, our opponents are more vicious than you can imagine.” Stiles nodded his head in understanding. What Gus was saying was the same thing Chris had told his mother many times when they went to fight. This could very well be a bloodbath and only luck and trust would see them out of it alive. Noticing the tomahawk still in his hand, Stiles handed held it out for Gus to take. He would miss the healing it offered but this was no time for him to be stingy.  
Besides, he thought, I have one ace up my sleeve still. Gus looked at the Tomahawk then back at Stiles and nodded his understanding.  
“This might not work for my as well as you hope Governor but I will use it to the best of my ability.” Stiles gave a half smile and acted like he was shoving the comment away.  
“You are not going to use that to protect me.” Gus looked sharply at the Caster but Stiles continued. “You’re going to use that to make sure you make it back to your own Caster.” Gus looked taken aback. “You’re a warder, it will work for you. No, you probably can’t do all the cool ass tricks that Chase can with them but it will still work for you.” Stiles managed to push himself up from the tree with some difficulty but was able to not grimace. “What better time to test it than the present.” The sound of howling came from somewhere in the distance.

(Outside the veil)  
Allison slammed on the brakes on the edge of a line of trees right next to the giant standing stone. She had never seen one up close before and was impressed by it’s size. Derek and Royce were already getting out of the car and moving to the stone with Giselle’s car close behind. Allison got out of the driver’s seat and ran to the back where she kept her hunting bow and quiver of enchanted arrows. Each arrow was made from a special wood that allowed the archer to turn it into whatever she needed it to. It made her feel like Hawkeye using it. Once she got the duel quivers securily on did she make her way over to stand next to Derek. Royce was at the Stone looking at it with deep concentration.  
“Well?” Allison asked her friend. She didn’t know how far away Stiles was and he was in more danger the longer he was away from her. “Do whatever you dad told you to do.” Royce shook his head and turned to face the group.  
“I can’t.” Derek almost lunged at the Caster but Chase got in his way. Allison moved past the struggling pair and stood in front of Royce. Her voice was too calm for the situation.  
“Royce, you were with your father on the phone and he told you how to get us through the veil, know what is the problem. Stiles needs me..” Snarl from Derek, “us and I’m not keeping him waiting.” Royce nodded his understanding.  
“I understand the situation and I understand what is going on, but that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t.”  
“Why?” Allison’s voice was too clipped to be helpful but she was getting very agitated. Royce looked past Allison towards Derek.  
“Chase let him go.” Chase looked back to his Caster with a look of plain confusion but did as he was asked. Derek moved his lighting speed but was stopped inches away from where Royce stood, a look of pure disgust and revulsion on his face. A moment later, Derek ran to the nearest tree and started to dry heave. Everyone looked at the were as he tried to empty his stomach. Allison turned to Royce.  
“What?’ Royce moved to the Stone.  
“Giselle, some light please.” A small area was soon filled with a warm bright glow, just enough not to damage the group's night vision. Then Allison saw it. One the other side was a giant, deranged, rabid wolf. She recognized it immediately. It was one of the wolves that she and Stiles had taken down that day on the side of the road. Royce turned back to Allison.  
“I can’t because she won’t let me. In order to lower the veil, you have to get rid of her.” Allison looked over at the still heaving Derek and then back at the other wolf. She remembered putting an arrow through its neck. In fact, the arrow was still there, sticking out from where it dug in too far to remove. And Allison understood just what kind of insanity she was facing.  
“Necromancy?” She asked in a low voice and Royce shrugged.  
“I think it’s more like pure hatred. She’s literally using her hatred and the veil to keep her alive.”  
Allison nodded, grabbed on of her arrows and moved back so that she was in front of the wolf.  
“Move” She said in her most authoritative voice, the one she picked up from her memories of her mother. The wolf glared at her. Allison notched her arrow.  
“Move” She command again and the wolf stared to laugh. A moment later and the terribly sound of cracking and in front of her stood a gangly looking woman in rags.  
“Or what?” the woman spat out “What makes you think I’m going to do anything you stupid upstart bitch. Do you know who I am, what I’ve done. I’ve feasted on more terrible things than you child. I am a daughter of the moon and night. I am a descended of the most proud and ancient lineage of Hale. I am a goddess and you are naught but a …” The woman didn’t get a chance to answer as the arrow shot right through her forehead, ripping the head off and jamming itself in a nearby tree. The body of the woman toppled over. Allison put down her bow and nodded to Royce.  
“Please continue.” Royce nodded and then went back to the stone. Allison did not hear what he said or see what he did but she did see the Standing Stone glow and the air in front of her part like transparent curtains. Allison was about to move to the car when Giselle stopped her.  
“It work do you much good. Machinery and technology don’t work beyond the veil.”  
“Then how do you propose I travel, on foot?” Allison asked, her voice rising in pitch with irritation.  
“Maybe not your feet, that would take too long.” Derek spoke up. Allison turned to see him remove his clothes and walking through the parted air. She was impressed with the weres physique and wasn’t the only one.  
“Well damn.” Chase and Scott said together. Giselle and Royce just stared in pure admiration. Derek smirked, eyes glowing red as he started to shift. A moment later, a pure black wolf the size of a warg from the Lord of the Rings was standing where Derek once stood. The wolf nodded to Allison.  
“I’m thinking he wants you to ride him.” Scott said to Allison, giving her a friendly smile. She blushed at his proximity but nodded. This shouldn’t be too hard. Just like riding a horse. A tug on the bond told Allison she did not have time to think about this. With very little time to spare, Allison Argent hopped onto the back of the guy/wolf who had the obvious hots for her Caster and held on for dear life as she him under the moonlight of the rising moon.

“Now what do we do?” Scott asked as he watched Allison and Derek ride off.  
“We follow them as quickly as possible.” Honor answered. He, that was weird thinking about the ghoul as a him now, moved to the back of Giselle’s car and pulled something out of the trunk. “ And we use him to get us there.” Honor gave the now ghoul a quick thwack to the head. The ghoul cried out. “Not so fun when it’s you that’s the weak one, is it Julius?” The ghoul, Julius, growled but it had no heat. The creature had no more spirit after he realized he had been played as a fool by his friends. He didn’t even care if he ever became human again. He had failed and his shame was too much for him. “Oh stop feeling sorry for yourself you big baby. If you want to make things right, help us save the Governor.”  
The ghoul just stared into space, its eyes glazed over with shame and the inability to accept the reality in front of it. Honor tried shaking his brother but no response came from the ghoul.  
“This is getting us nowhere.” Chase told Honor. Honor gave his brother an annoyed final shake and returned him to the car. Honor returned, looking a bit glum.  
“Sorry guys, I thought he would help but I guess the shock still wasn’t worn off. Freebear has been his best friend forever and the betrayal must have hit him hard.”  
“More so than finding out his fiancee turned his sibling into a ghoul for her own sick amusement? Geez Honor, your brother is a lousy judge of character.” Scott tried to soften the words with a smile and a friendly pat on the shoulder but it didn’t help.  
“While all of this is riveting, we need to help Stiles as soon as we can and we have no way of doing that.” Chase pointed out. Turning to Royce for agreement, he found both his Caster and Giselle staring off into the distance. From the shadows came the sound of treading feet. Chase was readying himself for defense when from the darkness came a voice.  
“It seems you are in need of assistance and I do believe I have just what you need.”

(Beacon Hills)  
Lydia wasn’t entirely sure how she had gotten dragged into this mess to begin with but she knew that Stiles was to blame for it. He just had to be. Why else would she be driving in a car with half a dozen members of the Hale family and another half dozen or so following behind them. As the logical and intelligent person she was, she could figure most things out with only the barest of context but this was beyond her. She was sitting in between the famous magical historian Laura Hale, which would have been a huge honor and under any normal circumstances Lydia would be asking a great deal of detailed questions about her work, Cora. Lydia knew she wasn’t Cora’s favorite person and she accepted that. They were more acquaintances than actual friends but they got well enough and were in quite a few of the same classes back at Bram Stoker but in terms of people Lydia would have assumed she’d be with during the potential end of the town, Cora was not one of them. Which made the whole conversation they were having a bit surreal.   
“Let me see if I understand this correctly. You want me to track down your aunts, whom is a feral werewolf that somehow escaped jail during the attack, because she’s dying? And what exactly am I tracking her too?”   
The man in the black suit, She believed he called himself Yvan, nodded to her from the driver’s seat. The woman in the passenger’s seat, Eliza, turned to face Lydia.  
“As a Banshee, Ms. Martin, you have the ability to sense death. We know that Beth is mortally wounded and that because of her feral condition, she’s going to make it back to her pack before she dies. We need you to track her and lead us to where the rest of her pack is so that Laura, Cora, and the ones in the car behind us and handle them.”  
“And you won’t be?” Lydia asked. Laura answered for her sister-in-law.  
“Eliza is not a born Hale. She, like Erica, was bitten into the family. That means that the stigma of our family does not actually include her but as she is a Female Beta of my mother, she will be coming as backup should we need it.” Lydia nodded her understanding. Shifter families were all about solidarity. Turning to look over her shoulder, Lydia could make out the other car swerving about the road.  
“And them?” Lydia indicated behind her. Cora shorted.  
‘Mom’s too agitated to drive, so Nancy is, but mom is still mad at Olivia for what happened to Derek that they're probably fighting in the car. Jan is probably trying to keep them from killing each other and it’s just a whole giant pile of Hale estrogen all up in that joint.” Lydia turned back to give the car a concerned look.  
“Will they arrive in one piece?”  
“Hopefully.” Laura and Cora said at the same time. It was a few more minutes of silence when Lydia felt the first wave of death feel. She inhaled sharply and focused all her attention of the feeling. Pinpointing it, she narrowed in on it.  
“She’s that way.” Lydia pointed past Yvan’s head and into the woods. Yvan nodded and spun the steering wheel hard enough to the right that it was a miracle the car didn’t tip over. The car behind them made a gentlier turn but stayed on their tail.  
“Now where Ms. Martin?” Yvan asked and Lydia closed her eyes, allowing her magic to guide her to the feeling of death. She could see the world outside of the car in her mind’s eye and see a trail of blood that must have belonged to the wolf they were following. Lydia gave directions to Yvan for about 15 minutes until the wolf stopped. Lydia saw it. She saw the feral wolf, returning to human form. She saw the woman standing in front of a large stone next to another woman, much healthier looking than the one they were following. She saw the wounded woman talking, begging, pleading and then she saw the other woman nod. What happened next was too horrible for Lydia to focus on and she screamed. Yvan slammed on the brakes and nearly avoided crashing into a tree.  
“What the Hell?” The wolves all looked at Lydia as she continued to scream her horror. Cora tried to calm her down.  
“Lydia, Lydia you need to stop and tell us what happened?” It was no good, Lydia wouldn’t stop until Eliza took the Banshee’s head in her hands and hummed a deep hum. Lydia calmed down after a few moments, enough to breathe.  
“Lydia, what happened? What did you see?” Lydia moved her head to look at Yvan, dead in the eyes. Yvan nodded his understanding and got out of the car. Confused, everyone did as well. The wolves from the car behind them got out as well.  
“What in the fuck is going on?” Talia all but screamed when she approached the others. No one answered her which only made her angrier. She was about to start spitting when Yvan stepped in front of her. His eyes were all black as his voice was solemn.  
“It is time Talia Hale, to prove that you are fit to be Alpha of your pack.” Talia blinked at him a few times then nodded. Turning to face the female members of her pack. Talia’s voice was grave.  
“It’s time to hunt sisters.” The she released a sky piercing howl soon joined by all the other wolves. Lydia simply stared into space, trying desperately to see beyond the veil and find Stiles.

(Inside the Veil)  
Stiles had never seen someone die in front of him before and from the horrible sounds coming from the beast’s throat as the tomahawk was yanked from it, he didn’t want to again. Stiles and Gus never even noticed the giant wolves, their approach covered up by the yelling of the two druids. It wasn’t until one of them almost stepped on Stiles leg from where he was hiding did he realize they were there. Trying not to scream, that would have made things a whole lot worse, Stiles look directly into the red rimmed eyes of a feral beast. The wolf didn’t seem to comprehend what it was looking at nor did it have time too as Gus all but cut the things head off with a mighty swing of the tomahawk. It might have been the smell of blood or the sound of the body dropping but soon the yelling stopped and Stiles looked up to see the druids staring at the car.  
“Run.” Was all Gus said as the druids ran towards the car “I’ll hold them off.” Stiles couldn’t comprehend what was happening, Gus just killed someone, didn’t he. and now he was speaking to Stiles but Stiles couldn’t hear him with the sound of blood rushing in his ears. Stiles turned to Gus.  
“What?”  
“Where is the stupid son of a bitch.” Freebear roared.  
“Run!” Gus screamed at Stiles and Stiles ran.  
He ran as fast as he could.  
He didn’t know where he was going, or what was happening. All he did was run.


	46. The Nemeton

(Inside the Veil)  
Stiles ran, ran as fast as his gangly body would let him. Thank god he was in too much of a panic to be worried about things like tripping or running into something. Fear seemed to give him far better coordination than he usually had. Was anyone following him, was Gus, were the giant wolves, were did those come from? Didn’t he handle them already? or were there more? Stiles couldn’t hear anything over his own thoughts and the sound of blood rushing in his ears. Why was this happening? the sound of trees rusting made Stiles make a sharp left turn but he did not stop running. He knew that if he did, he would be too scared and freaked out to start running again. Maybe if he was lucky and ran fast enough, he could run right through the other side of the veil. That hope died when he ran into the tree. BAM. the sound Stiles when hitting the tree reverberated through the massive clearing.  
“Owwww, that really hurt.” Stiles said from the ground where he had fallen after hitting the massive tree. Now Stiles had run into his fair share of trees over his lifetime and this one had to be the hardest one he had ever hit square on. It was more like running into a wall than a tree.  
“Who put a tree this hard in the middle of my way?” Because yes it was the tree’s fault that Stiles hadn’t been paying attention to where he was running. Stiles checked his nose and mouth to make sure nothing was broken or bleeding. When everything seemed fine, he noticed a pain down one of his legs. Stiles looked to see a large gash running up his left calf, red blood dripping from the wound.  
“Shit, when did that happen? How did that happen?” Stiles must have been so full of adrenaline, he didn’t notice when he had hurt himself.  
“Oh this is bad. If I’ve been bleeding for a while, the wolves can use it to track me.”  
“Well done Governor, because that’s exactly what we did.” The voice sent chills down Stiles spine as he turned around to find himself staring face to face with the two druids and at least two dozen sets of crazed looking eyes.  
“pieprzyć” Was all Stiles was able to say.

  
“Language my dear boy.” A smooth and silky voice said from behind the druids “Didn’t your mother teach you better manners than that.” Stiles backed up until he was sitting up against the tree. When his damaged leg rubbed up against the bark, he felt something. It was almost a shock like static but less stinging, more of a pulse or vibration. Stiles tried to stand but since hitting the tree, all of his adrenaline had left his body making it hard to move. He stared at the druids and the crazed looking eyes and swallowed hard.  
“Now now Governor,” The male druid, Freebear, said in a mock sympathizing voice “I think it’s time that you started to cooperate with us.”  
“jak cholera” Stiles heard himself yell at the druids who have done so much harm and bad already. He may not have a clue as to what was going on but he would not allow them to continue. Stiles felt that he c would be more convincing if he was standing but he tried.  
“Now Governor,” The smaller druid said “Isn’t your job to help those you come to you for aid and isn’t that what we did, came to you for aid? Why, you wouldn’t be doing your job if you didn’t help us.” The sweetness that poured from the druids lips gave stiles the impression of a snake. He remembered what Honor had told him in the car on their way to the school.  
“Really, is that why you helped Meredith turn Honor into a ghoul, so that I would help you?”  
The druid tossed her hair in a very Lydia-esque way and sneered.  
“Meredith was a proud foul and Honor a Coward. What difference does it make to me that their both gone now.” Wasn’t this girl suppose to be a healer? Something in the back of his mind nudged him but he tried to ignore it. The man Freebear continued.  
“Now Governor, how about you do your job and help out us and our friends here.” He motioned to the crazed looking eyes “ and tap into that tree behind you, or else.”  
“Or else what?”  
“Or else I make you.” Stiles felt a cold sweat begin to form when he heard it. The sound of howling. The crazed eyes turned to look in that direction and the smooth voice spoke again.  
“You two, stay here with the boy, the rest of you find out what that was.” The sounds of growls followed and most of the eyes expect for a single pair disappeared into the darkness.

(Inside the veil, Hale pack).  
Lydia sat there mildly horrified but mostly curious as all of the women of the Hale family turned into their wolf forms. The women Talia and Jan became large, almost the size of the car while the others were slightly smaller. Lydia had never seen Cora’s other form and was more than impressed when the girl turned into a large black and white spotted wolf with dazzling blue eyes. Only the man Yvan didn’t transform but remained as a human.  
“Or at least as human as he wants to appear.” Lydia corrected herself. She wasn’t sure exactly what Yvan was but there wasn’t a power in the world that was able to stop her from finding out, except maybe the sound of an answering howl coming from the woods. The man Yvan turned to Lydia.  
“Ms. Martin, I know that this might be rude of me to ask but if necessary, would you be willing to lend us your assistance. Any advantage we can take is a chance for us to help your friend.”  
Lydia nodded. She was a Caster and she was Lydia Martin. She was not about to allow a pack of werewolves show her up. Lydia removed her designer shoes and placed them in her purse before stepping out of the car barefoot. This might be a battle but she was not about to ruin a $450 pair of Dolce and Gabbana originals. Fuck that. Lydia only had a moment to prepare when the wolf that had been Talia released a sound that could only be called a battle cry as giant rabid wolves burst from the trees.

Cora stood next to Laura’s wolf, transfixed on the sight before her. Each of the wolves in front of her were the size of alphas. But how was that possible. The voice of her mother ran through the pack bond.  
“Be strong daughters, these are not the Hale wolves. These are the remains of the other packs that were chased into the woods by the Nox and the Casters. Have no fear and show no mercy for they will show you none. Stay in pairs and do not let their forms fools you. These things can longer be called wolves. They left the embrace of the moon mother a long time ago.” Cora always noticed Talia was far more reasonable when she was a wolf than when she was human.  
“Now, my family FIGHT!” And Talia, Jan and Olivia rusted into the oncoming wolves with bared teeth and fangs. Surprisingly, Nancy and Eliza joined next taking on one of the wolf's closest to them. the wolf seemed surprised as Nancy lunged at it as if it couldn’t comprehend what was happened. While the wolf stood there in shock, Eliza pounced on its back and started tearing its back. The wolf, shaken out of its shock, screamed as Eliza’s teeth and claws found skin and turned it’s head to bite at Cora’s sister-in-law. While it was occupied with Eliza, Nancy was able to sneak under it and with a savageness Cora would have never expected from her otherwise ditzy aunt, tore out the beast’s belly. Blood and Organs hit the forest floor and Nancy nimbly dodged the collapsing wolf. Nancy’s voice passed through the pack bonds.  
“Aim for the neck or belly. Be quick. It’s just like wrestling.” and with that, Nancy and Eliza bounded to the next beast. Soon, Cora found herself as Laura and Shelby soon started to fight their own beast. Laura was a good fighter but Cora had never seen her sister move so gracefully before. Shelby kept in the wolf’s face, the wolf not able to attack an omega while Laura zigged and zagged nipping at the bigger wolf’s legs. The beast tried to attack Laura but Shelby always got in the way, protecting her cousin from the assault from the massive creature. Laura must have been able to hamstring the monster as its back legs gave way a moment later and in the pain screamed that followed, Shelby ripped out the beast's throat with her teeth. Cora felt a nudge at her shoulder as Erica moved up beside her. The blonde wolf spoke to her through the bond.  
“Let’s get out there before we kiss all the fun.” Cora nodded her head, a thrill pulsing through her and she and Erica ran towards the nearest monster and attacked the thing together.

(Inside the Veil, Derek and Allison)  
The sound of screaming and howls of pain ripped through the forest as Derek ran through the woods. He had been able to pick up Stiles trail almost immediately which helped since the feeling of the bond was getting all tangled up inside his head. He had felt his pack close by and the women shift and heard his mother’s battle roar. It took everything he had not to go in that direction and fight by his pack’s side but Allison kept him focused.  
“Come on Derek, find him.” Her intensity was enough to overpower the feeling of battle lust that rippled through him. Derek was wrong about Allison. The woman wasn’t a wolf. No she was more than that. She was Artemis, Diana, the huntress of the moon itself and nothing and no one was going to stop her from protecting her Caster. Derek was able to follow the trail to a clump of trees where the sound of fighting could be heard. Derek slowed down, finding it hard to find Stiles scent among the new smells of sweat, musk and blood. Derek crept closer and found something to make his pulsing blood sing. More of the giant wolves that had attacked him earlier this week were engaged in battle against a lone man wielding an axe that blazed with a brilliant blue and white light.  
“That’s one of Royce’s Tomahawks.” Allison whispered “but who is that and how are they using it.” The man moved with all the grace and strength of a predator. Each step was calculated and none were wasted. Each time a wolf got close, the man fought them off with the blade of the axe. Something about the axe spoke to a primal part of Derek’s wolf brain. It reminded him of sight he saw a long time ago, something that spoke to him not as Derek and not as a wolf, but as Derek the Werewolf, it spoke to his soul. The man cried out something as the axe carved a deep cut through the fur of one wolf.  
“Come and Dance with me demons. Come and Dance under the blue moon and know the power of the goddess.” Derek, who was too transfixed to notice the wolf sneaking up on the man from behind was shaken out of his revelry by a silver shot of light that struck the monster wolf right between the eyes. The man turned towards them to find Allison prepping another shot. He gave her an almost feral grin and lifted the tomahawk in a salute.  
“Hail Sister, I appreciate the shot. If you are you I think you are, he ran that way.” The man pointed to his left. Allison released the arrow and another shot of bright silver light hit another wolf right in the throat. The wolf screamed as silver light erupted from its eyes, ears and mouth.  
Allison then lifted her bow in a salute back.  
“Hail Brother and thank you for your help.” Whispering to Derek “Let’s hurry.” Derek started to move when but stopped as he watched another wolf try to take the man and fail. Even teaming up, they were no match for the power of the Tomahawk. Allison seemed to understand what Derek was thinking. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your chance to fight. I’m sure of it.” Derek nodded and began to lope in the direction in the man, no warder he guessed, had indicated. The smell of Stiles, fear and the scent of what could only be the druids soon filled his nose again. Derek ran harder, hoping that he and Allison would not be too late.

(The tree)  
The female druid screamed something vile and horrible as Stiles spell hit her hard in the chest. With the screaming of the wolves, the smooth and silky voice had told them to stay put while it went to check on things. The druids hadn’t listened.  
“Now's our chance to take the stupid fool.” The woman said to the man but the man just shook his head. “What are you, a coward? We finally have our chance and you’re going to wait because someone told you to wait. Wasn’t all of this part of your plan Freebear. Wasn’t this what you wanted?”  
“You have no Idea Marcy, none.” The man called Freebear growled at the smaller druid.  
“Then what are you waiting for?” The man called Freebear did nothing and the woman Marcy flipped her hair in aggravation. “Fine, see if I care, I’m getting my power one way or another and I’m not about to let you stop me.” While the two druids were arguing, Stiles had found that he had the strength to stand up. Sure he was a bit wobbly, but his leg didn’t hurt, though it still bled, and he didn’t feel as afraid as before. Maybe it was because the large, rabid wolves were gone and now all he faced were two thieving newts, but Stiles felt more in control of the situation than he had since deciding to dance with Derek on his birthday. This was going to become a duel and he knew he could win a duel. Stiles opened up his magic to the world around, filled it with his bright light and felt the world respond. The woman druid spat at the feet of the male druid and turned to face Stiles.

“I don’t give a flying shit about you Freebear. All I care about is what this bastard, the muscle faggot and that skank did to me and Rin.” The woman gathered power in her hands “Now watch closely little boy as I do to you what I should have done to that red-haired cunt.” Stiles blast of silver lightning struck the druid so hard in the chest, it caused her to glow for a second. Stiles released two more strikes, punctuated with threats.  
“Don’t you dare call Giselle a cunt you hell spawned worm riddle dwarf.” Another bolt of lighting to the druids chest. “ and Don’t you dare call Chase a faggot you vile bitch.” and finally, lifting his hand as if to call lighting from the sky itself, Stiles voice boomed. “And don't you dare call yourself a healer you selfish piece of shit.” Marcy had collapsed from the lighting strikes and her own magic failing when the power of Stiles next spell hit her. It felt like all of the synapses in her body fired at once. She would have screamed if she could but the moment she opened her mouth, nothing came out. Her body shuddered before something that felt like thunder ripped through her and light erupted from every pore of her body. She was lifted up into the air as what seemed like a sonic boom erupted from the druids small frame. Marcy hit the ground with a thud, bounced and laid still, her eyes opened but unseeing. Only the rise and fall of her chest revealed that she was still alive. Freebear stood in transfixed amazement and horror as he looked between Stiles and Marcy. Stiles stood under the branches of the great tree proud and determined. He had never felt so powerful before. He felt like he could right all the wrongs in the world. No, not felt, he knew down to his bones that he could stop this nightmare here and now and he would. The final druid spoke, his voice still rough and growly.  
“What in the hell did you just do to her.” The sound cackling soon filled the air followed by loud clapping.

  
“Oh Bravo, Bravo, encore.” The smooth and silky voice rang out “What a truly splendid show Mr. Stilinski. Absolutely splendid. I don't think Evelyn could have done better.” Stiles tried to focus on the voice but something felt off, wrong even. That whomever or whatever as the case may be owned that voice was twisted in a way that Stiles couldn’t even fathom. The voice continued.  
“Didn’t I tell you Freebear. With the power of the Nemeton, you could become an even greater shaman than that Sky Dancer women. You could bring glory and honor back to your miserable family. I mean look at what Mr. Stilinski here did and he wasn’t even tapping into the power of the tree. He was just standing under it and he was able to strip Marcy of all of her hard earned power.” Freebear made a sound of acknowledgement as he stared hungrily and greedily and Stiles and the tree behind him. Stiles was getting tired of this shit.  
“Show yourself.” Stiles bellowed and shot a ball of light in the space behind Freebear where the voice was coming from. Stiles regretted it almost immediately.  
Standing in the woods behind the druid was a woman wearing the remains of dress from the middle 1940’s. It was torn almost to shreds but it paled in comparison to the woman. She was gaunt and sickly looking, her skin the color of death warmed over. She hair of a mess of tangles and knots and split ends. Her back was hunched but what disturbed Stiles more than that was the woman’s eyes. They were the color of rotting meat and were more crazed looking than anything Stiles had ever seen. But the worse part above all else was that the woman looked so much like Derek. Stiles could see the beauty and power and grace of the woman behind the grotesqueness of her current state and it made him want to weep and vomit at the same time. His eyes started to water as the woman walked up and stood next to Freebear. She gave Stiles a very mocking curtsy and said in her too smooth and silky voice for a creature that looked like her.  
“Allow me to introduce myself and this man here.” She indicated Freebear “This is my pack’s emissary, Freebear Custer, and I am Tabitha Hale, Alpha of the Hale Pack. Nice to meet you Governor Stilinski.” The woman started to cackle.


	47. Drawing to the end

(Nemeton)  
Stiles stared at the woman who called herself Alpha with a mix of disgust, confusion, fear, and righteous anger. He had heard the stories of what this woman, no monster, was responsible for doing. What she lead the other shifters into doing. He knew the names of faces of all those this monster killed and he knew the families of those families. Stiles knew that if he did nothing else as governor, he would make this monster pay for all the pain that she inflicted. Intense fury burned through his blood, a fury that could only be cooled with this monster and the bastard druid dead on the ground. Stiles was willing to do whatever it took to bring them down. Inside, his magic started to burn when the voice from the memory of a dream spoke to him again, its soothing words a balm on his burning fury.  
“Be at peace trochę lisa. Your anger is what the hellhound wants. If you try to take her life with your magic here, it will undo all the good the Nemeton has done over the years and the druid will be able to claim her power for his own.” Stiles didn’t want to calm down. He wanted to hit something but the voice seemed to cool his head some. He was able to think about what the voice said. Something caught his attention. He didn’t realize he was speaking out loud.  
“Undo what she did? what did she do? who is she?” The monster called Tabitha released a sound that Stiles assumed was a laugh. It was as putrid as the rest of her.  
“So, you’ve figured it out have you? Or at least a part of it. I’m surprised that lousy excuse for a father didn’t tell you the truth so let me fill in the details, shall I?” The monster pointed to the tree behind Stiles. “That, Governor, is the Nemeton. It is the source of the magic of these forests and an extremely powerful source of raw magic. It also happens to be the grave of one Evelyn Stilinski, my former packs former emissary.” If she was expecting a look of shock or confusion, she was going to be in for a unpleasant surprise. Stiles’s eyebrows didn’t even lift. He stood there as if she had revealed that the sun was hot.  
“So?” Was all the responsive Stiles gave. The monster faced turned sour, or more sour than it was originally. She let out a sharp whistle and rustling came from the surrounding trees.

From the darkness of the forest, a group of equally putrid and sickly looking women emerged and made their way around the tree. All of them had the same intense look of madness, though none as bad as Tabitha. There had to be more than a dozen or so of the women, all of them in the same dress styles as the monster in front of Stiles. All of them looked at the tree with a mixed look hatred, hunger, and insanity. Stiles stood his ground though even with his human nose, he could smell the scent of the women. It smelled of death overdone. The monster Tabitha continued to speak, her voice no longer holding the amusement from early, now it contained nothing but hatred.  
“So? That bitch is the reason that my pack was chased off our land, separate from our mates and cubs and forced to live our lives as scavengers in these cursed woods.” Stiles gave the monster a wry grin.  
“From what I understand, you did that to yourself. You and your fellow hellhounds didn’t get half of what you deserved. I may not know Evelyn or if she was your emissary or not, but I’m going to tell you right here and now, I’m going to finish what she started. So come and fight me bitch.” Stiles couldn’t help but notice that the last part came out as a growl and if he had known better, it was a growl of challenge. Tabitha’s eyes widened only a fraction and she turned to Freebear.  
“Kill him and you can add his power as well.” The druid gave Stiles a feral grin and came forward. Stiles was ready for him. What he wasn’t ready for was the silver arrow that shot through the air and hit one of the feral women. The hit woman burst into a column of silver flame.

(Nemeton)  
Allison didn’t make a sound as she prepared to loose another arrow at the group of women surrounding the trees. She didn’t know what to expect but Derek explained it to her.  
“They’re feral Allison. While that might mean anything to you, it does mean something.”  
“And that would be what?” Allison asked as Derek moved them closer to the clearing. She made sure to follow him exactly. While under normal circumstances, Following a naked man into the woods sounded like one of Claudia's wilder stories, this was no story and no time to admire the werewolf physique. She could feel Stiles tense and stress but also feel his power. For some reason, he felt stronger than ever and that strength was leaking into her as well. She wondered if it was leaking into Derek.  
“It means that they are more susceptible to attacking and killing than in control wolves. It also means their wolf forms will be harder to kill.” Allison gave Derek a half smile but she doubted he could see it. She had no doubt Derek knew more about this situation than she did, but she knew more about magic than he did. Her link with Stiles gave her some feeling of magic and right now, whatever it was Stiles was doing, whatever he was doing to become stronger made her stronger too.  
“Well then it’s a good thing I’ll really good at killing things.” Derek made a shuddering motion that had to be him stifling a laugh.  
“That’s good to hear. So warder, what the plan to save our boy?”  
Allison took aim and fired once more, letting the arrow slice through the air to land at the feet of the woman who was getting a little too close to Stiles. Nothing happened. The woman took another step and howled, screamed in pain as her leg made contact with the arrow and the ground exploded, taking both of the woman’s legs with her. Allison notched another arrow and fired it at the tree. She hoped this worked.

Stiles saw the arrow coming from the corner of his eye as Freebear got closer. The druid was preparing his well. Not sure what to expect, Stiles whirled and caught the arrow Allison had shot and pointed it at the druid as the druid released his well. Black and red fire met pure silver energy in a clash of power that split the ground. Stiles felt the heat from the flames and tried to swallow. This was why Chase’s tomahawk didn’t do any good when it hit the druid. Freebear was literally using hellfire. How a druid was able to do that was unthinkable. Stiles couldn’t even think of another Caster who could even tap into hellfire, might as well use it as his well. The fire burned hot and deadly as it battered away at the wall of energy Stiles poured into the arrow.  
“Kill him you fools, Kill the Governor. “ Tabitha screamed as the other women changed into their monstrous wolf forms and attacked. Freebear screamed something and two columns of flame hit Stiles magic and smashed it. The flames dissipated but Freebear came charging it. At that moment, a deep thunderous howl tour through the woods and a giant black shape emerged and tackled Tabitha as she was beginning to change.

(The Veil)  
After what seemed like forever and then some (it probably was only about ten or fifteen minutes), the Hales wolves had been able to destroy the other wolves. Destroy was the right word, Lydia thought, since kill didn’t seem to do the scene in front of her justice. The blood was everywhere, mixing in with the dirt and leaves to create a disgusting primordial soup. Lydia wanted to be sick but she was far too tried to throw up. She had to use her banshee powers twice; once to stun to the enemy wolves and twice to kill the ones that had struck up on Erica and Cora and Laura. The last scream almost caused her to collapse and she would have had Yvan not been there to help. For a man who did most of the killing, there wasn’t a speck of blood on him. His black suit was as spotless and perfect as if he just had it dried cleaned. While Lydia wasn’t covered in blood, she was far from as pristine as she had hoped. She had gotten in on the action as well, hitting the feral wolves with spell after spell and taking up a fallen branch to thrash as she could. It may not have been an effective fighting style but it did distract the feral wolves from the Hale pack.

The women of the Hale pack were trying to clean off the blood they all seemed to have bathed in. Since human skin was much easier to clean than wolf fur, the ladies had turned back after the last feral was dead.  
“Can we be sure that that was the last of them.” Eliza asked Talia, who nodded.  
“The Banshee’s scream would have finished them off regardless. Insane creatures couldn’t have survived that.” Talia looked up at Lydia and nodded her head in approval and thanks. Lydia gave the older woman a wiry smile and returned the nod. God she was tired. Erica had come over to throw her arm around Lydia’s neck in a show of sisterhood or some other nonsense.  
“Nice going there Lyd’s, you really kicked ass out there. Didn’t know you had it in you.”  
“Neither did I.” Lydia said under her breath. While the other women were busy trying to clean off the blood and muck, Olivia and Jan were staring off into the woods. If the two women were still in their wolf forms, Lydia would say that there hackles were raised. Laura went over to her aunts.  
“It’s bad isn’t it?” Olivia turned to the young woman.  
“Yes.” was her solemn answer.  
“What going on? I mean I know something is happening but I can’t tell what it is.” Laura placed her hand over her heart and clenched. “It hurts. Not like a sharp pain but an ache that is steadily getting worse.” Olivia nodded and Jan turned to the others.  
“Can you feel it as well?” The others nodded. “Good, because I want you to remember that feeling for the rest of your lives. Remember it and remember this night.”  
“Why?” Cora asked. Jan gave her a pained smile.  
“Because, Cora, tonight is the night old wrongs will be put right.”  
“Well, that’s vague and cryptic and made no sense.” Erica pointed out. Nancy stood up and helped her daughter up. Her face was pinched up and in pain. Lydia could practically taste the sourness of it. Nancy turned to Talia and Talia asked the Omega,  
“It’s her isn’t it?” Nancy nodded. “Who's she fighting?” Nancy closed her eyes and focused. She opened them a moment later.  
“Derek. Tabitha is fighting Derek.” A hush fell over the group.  
“Well if that’s the case,” a new voice came from the darkness “Then I suggest that we hurry.”

From out of the gloom rode Scott, Royce, Giselle, Chase, and some guy she didn’t recognize. Royce and Giselle were on two beautiful horses while Scott was riding what looked to be an elk. Chase and the other guy were on a fierce looking beast that resembled the feral wolves. Lydia stared in mute shock as the group made their way to her.  
“Lydia, I know this is very hard to understand.” Scott said in his all too calm for the situation voice “But you’ll need to come with us. Margaret has a mount ready for you. We need to hurry because Stiles needs our help.” Lydia just stood there looking at Scott, her mouth may have been hanging open but she didn’t really notice. It took her a few tries to get words to come out.  
“Scott...you’re riding...riding a...ummm….”  
“The Herd.” Laura finished for her, the were’s voice strained with awe and amazement. She turned to Royce and Giselle. Lydia couldn’t be certain but she thought she saw both of of them glowing with their magic. It was radiating off of them and the horses they rode.  
“Lydia, we need to hurry.” Scott prompted her and Yvan helped the still stunned Lydia over to a graceful looking antelope which didn’t look nearly strong enough to carry her but was able to quite easily. The antelope made it’s way over to the others, Lydia holding on to it’s horns.  
“Ready?” Giselle asked and Lydia nodded, “Good.” Turning to the wolves, she added  
“Are you ready to run Hales?” Instead of answering, the women turned back into their wolf forms and released another howl and ran off into the woods. Almost without prompting, the Herd followed with their riders.

It took a few moments for Lydia to grasp what was going on. She looked about and found the lead rider, a young woman a little older than them riding next to a man with green spiked hair and tattoos riding one of the giant beasts. Lydia goaded the antelope up next to her.  
“Excuse me, but could you explain what is going on?” The woman turned to her and Lydia immediately caught the sight of her magical aura, a blue the color of ice. This woman was a Caster.  
“Certainly Banshee.” The woman said “We are escorting the Herd to the Nemeton, or more accurately, there escorting us.”  
“But why?” Lydia asked.  
“To do what they have always done.”

(The Nemeton).  
Derek tried to bite down on the other wolf’s neck and rip it out before it could throw him off. The smell of the thing was so horrible that it made his eyes water and his nose feel like melting but he ignored it. He had to kill this thing, this monster that had attacked his Stiles, This monster that had sent those beasts after him. This Monster that was partially responsible for the attacks on the town by the Questing Beasts and the attacks on the town all those years ago. Blood be damned, this monster would die. That was easier said than done. Despite Derek being healthier and stronger, this monster had more years of experience in fighting and was able to get out from under Derek with only a few moves. She didn’t escape unharmed as Derek had been able to bite her. She taste was worse than her smell. The bitch started to laugh, he could hear it in her voice.  
“So this is the best my pack was able to do after I left huh. An overgrown puppy that likes to nip. How pathetic. When I was your age, I would never allow my prey to escape so easily.” Derek growled low in this throat. Keeping the monster in his sight, he analysed the thing. It was ragged and sickly looking, as were all the feral beasts, but this one was worse. It’s ribs were showing and foam cascaded from it’s mouth. Its eyes were red and dried blood. If Derek wasn’t a were, he would be afraid of rabies. But there were more pressing matters, like killing this bitch and saving Stiles. Even from here, he could feel the heat of the flames as the emissary battled the Caster.  
“Funny.” The bitch continued “I always expected my successors to be smarter than this but I guess I was mistaken.” The bitch laughed again as Derek prepared to lung at the monster. A voice tore through the anger that clouded his brain.  
“Peace Derek, she wants to get you mad so you’ll make a mistake.” the voice belonged to Stiles, he didn’t know how but he knew it was Stiles. Derek shook his head and cleared the anger that had been building up. He looked at the bitch again and spoke in a deep thundering voice.  
‘I am Derek Hale. Son of Talia and Achilles Hale. Brother of Marcus, Laura, and Cora Hale. I am a proud member of the Hale pack.” Derek could feel the bitch’s anger flare as he formally announced himself using the forms of a superior to an inferior.  
“Well La fucking da, goody for you pup.” The bitch responded. With that, she lunged at Derek and the fight began.

Stiles could feel Derek through the bond and wanted to help but he had his hands full with his own problems. While Allison was busy holding off the other ferals, Stiles was busy trying to stop the killer emissary and his hellfire. Stiles was able to block or counter everything Freebear threw at him but that was about it. He was on the defensive and unable to go on the offensive. Freebear threw spell after spell after spell at Stiles, with a recklessness that bordered on the homicidal. Stiles tried to redirect the attacks but after watching one blast literally rip through a feral and set the trees behind her one fire, he settled for neutralizing them. That was not going so well. The smell of smoke was getting worse as more and more trees caught on fire. Stiles could see from the corner of his eyes the devastation the hellfire was doing to the surrounding forest. It wasn’t just burning the forest, but laying it too waste. Stiles could literally feel the pain of the forest as it dies. It made him want to weep.  
“Oh, is the little baby governor going to cry. Is the little bitty baby sad about the stupid wupid trees.” Freebear said in a mocking voice. He laughed as he threw another spell at Stiles. Fireballs as big as small cars shot towards him. Stiles put up a silvery shield but it was to no avail. The fireballs smashed the shield to pieces and threw Stiles up against the tree. Freebear laughed again, the sound of it maniacal.  
“Is this the best you can do boy? Is this the best that Skydancer Bitch’s successor can do? I don’t know what she was thinking, letting a boy do a man’s job.” Stiles got up on shaky legs.  
“I’ll tell you when I see a man around.” That was Stiles. In the middle of a duel to the death and still cracking wise. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find one, do you?” The druid growled and released a loud bellow as he released two huge blasts of fire at Stiles. Stiles tried to form a shield but he was two slow, too drained. He could still feel the pain of the surrounding forest as it burned and the heat from the fire at it approached. Stiles tried to ready a spell but was too slow.  
“STILES!” a shout rang through the woods as a large black shape jumped in front of him and took the full brunt of the attack. Stiles stared in wide eyed horror as Derek burned.  
“DEREK!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go. Thank you all for sticking with me for this long.


	48. Bound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas.
> 
> Thank you all for sticking with me to the end. This took longer than I had originally thought but here we are.  
> If you would like to read more, I am writing a companion piece about the lives of the residents. 
> 
> Love you all and Thank you

(The Nemeton)  
Allison stared in horror as wolf Derek jumped in front of Stiles and intercepted the full force of the hellfire, turning him back into his human self. Allison wasn’t even aware of what was going on until she found herself almost at the giant tree in the middle of the clearing, running towards Stiles and the burning Derek. She could hear Stiles crying out and feel the intense feeling of the flames as they burned the werewolf. Everything was chaos and she was in autopilot mode now. She needed to get Stiles out of here as soon as possible. She could worry about everything else later. It wasn’t until she felt a branch hit her in the face did she realize she was under the tree.  
“Stiles!” She tried to get the Caster’s attention, but all of it was on the figure before him, Derek burning alive to save him. “Stiles! Wake up! We need to move.” Stiles wasn’t moving and he wasn’t responding. He had to be in shock. Putting all the strength she had left, Allison slapped her Caster hard across the face. The sound resonated through the clearing.  
“That wasn’t very nice Warder. You shouldn’t hit your Caster like that.” The taunting voice of the druid grated on her ears as he moved closer to inspect the werewolf. “Too bad about the wolf, though. Who would have thought he’d be so stupid as to jump in front of Hellfire. OH well, just gives me a chance to try again.” Before he could take another step, Allison fired an arrow right through his left leg.  
“Don’t you dare take another step or the next one goes through your head.” The warder growled as she moved into a defensive position in front of Stiles who had fallen to the ground from the impact of the slap.  
“Just ignore her Freebear.” The deranged looking woman from earlier called over from where she and Derek had fought. “She can’t kill you without permission from the Stilinski boy and he isn’t going to be saying anything for a while.” Fuckshit, how did she know that? Allison could fire all the arrows she wanted at the bastard who was giving her a leering smile but until she had Stiles’s permission, she couldn’t make a lethal shot. Fuck, fuck fuck fuck fuck. The druid moved closer and closer and moved his hand into the air, the air shimmering with dark heat. There was no way for her to block it. She could pull Stiles out of the way but from this range, they could still get hit. What I need is a distraction which I probably won’t be getting in time. Strangely enough, the universe was helpful this time. The druid screamed in rage and pain as one of the feral wolves slammed into him and slashed him along the ribs. A second later, she was on top of him, choking him. Everyone else stared in confusion at the sight.  
“What the fuck? Get off of me.” The druid tried to say as the woman continued to choke him.  
“Sally, what in the damn are you doing?” The hag screeched. From her position, Allison could hear the feral snarl at the druid.  
“How dare you. How dare you. How Dare you. I will kill you. Kill you. Kill you.” The druid grabbed the smaller woman’s arms to try and flip them. Know was Allison’s chance. While he wasn’t paying attention, Allison snuck up and slammed her iron-toed boot into the center of his rib cage. Allison heard the satisfying sound of the sternum and xiphoid process breaking. The druid gasped in pain as Allison screamed at Stiles.  
“STILES GET UP!”

The first thing the Casters, Warders, wolves and herd heard from the clearing was the sound of Allison screaming.  
“STILES GET UP!”  
“Oh God, something’s happened to Stiles.” Scott started to panic, his breaths started to come out ragged as his asthma kicked him.  
“Scott, this is not the time to panic. Getting upset won’t fix anything until we know what happened.” Lydia scolded, but the look on her face conveyed the same worry Scott was feeling. The herd was getting antsy as it approached the clearing and they weren’t the only ones. The Hales was starting to act strangely as well. One of them, Talia maybe, sniffed the air and almost in a second changed back.  
“DEREK!” She screamed, her voice raw with pain and fury. A moment later, all the other women changed back and started screaming for Derek as well. The screaming must have startled something because of in the distance, the sound of someone or something turned in their direction. Even from here, they could make it out. It was a giant wolf. Talia screamed again, this time, it was all fury and rage.  
“HOW DARE YOU HARM MY SON YOU BITCH. DIE!!!!!” and a naked Talia ran screaming into the clearing, beginning to change into her beta shape and straight at the wolf. The wolf didn’t have time to react as Talia ripped out its throat with her claws.  
“Don’t just stand there you idiots.” A rasping voice called out “We’re under attack. Kill them.” The Hale women, fury, and pain in their stances, ran screaming after Talia as the sound of wolves fighting filled the air.  
“Now what?” Scott said turning to Margaret. The lead riding turned her head from side to side, looking unsure what to do next.  
“I don’t know, this was never happened before.” It was at that moment, the mounts carrying Giselle and Royce turned and ran in another direction.  
“Where are you two going?” Scott yelled after them. Royce yelled back.  
“To wherever Stiles needs us.” At moment later, Lydia’s and Scott’s mounts turned and ran another direction. A sense of importance and decision ran through the bred Casters as their mounts picked up speed.

Allison ran back to the tree after kicking the druid, trying unsuccessfully to move an unresponsive Stiles away from what was left of Derek Hale. Something inside of her was hurting so much it felt like she was bleeding from an unseen wound, but she pushed the feeling aside.  
“You can fall apart later. Now you need to do your sworn duty and get your Casters out of here. You can grieve with him once that is taken care off.” Trying to drag Stiles away from Derek was going to be hard. Despite all her years of combat training giving her an impressive physique, she wasn’t all that much bigger than Stiles and she wasn’t in any position to get decent leverage.  
“Come on Stiles, you need to work with me here. I know you're hurting. I am too, but Derek would not want you to die here when there is so much so haven’t done yet as Governor. He wouldn’t want you to lay down and die. Move.” Nothing.  
“Please for the love of God, Move Stiles we need to Move.” Still nothing. She was starting to get frantic when out of the corner of her eye she saw the druid stand up. He was in pain and breathing hard, but he stood up. The feral wolf was on the ground, unmoving.  
“I’m going to enjoy barbecuing you bitch. Women always smell nicer after they burn then men.” The druid husked while the hag was cheering him on.  
“Yes Freebear, Kill the bitch, then kill the Governor and take his power and then you’ll be the shaman you always wanted to be.” The hag started laughing as the druid lifted his hand and black fire erupted and headed straight for them. Allison jumped in front of Stiles to block him. Closing her eyes, Allison wanted for the impact and was surprised when nothing happened. Opening one eye, she saw that she, Stiles and the entire tree were covered by a shimmering blue dome of power. She recognized it almost immediately. She could have cried for joy as she saw Royce and Giselle come riding up out of the dark forest, glowing like bonfires on top of radiant looking horses. The pair rode straight for the tree. The druid stared in shock and confusion and the sudden appearance of the blue wall of power.  
“Yo, Freebear. How about you pick on someone your own size for once.” The voice sounded like Royce but there was more to it. There was the sound of rushing water, of ground shaking, of hooves running across the open prairie. Allison didn’t have any magic and even she could see the brilliance Royce exuded. He was no longer the tall and skinny boy she knew, but a stunning combination of Irish Sidhe and Native American. His horse was a magnificent looking appaloosa, larger and stronger looking than any horse she had seen before. Freebear slowly turned as the horse and rider came upon him and with a scream of terror, was trampled by the mighty steed. Allison almost collapsed as Giselle made her way through the shield and towards Stiles and Derek.

“Stiles can you hear me.” Stiles could hear. He could hear Allison fighting and her attempt get him to move, but he couldn’t comprehend it. He couldn’t comprehend anything. Derek was dead. Derek, his Derek though he knew he had no right to think of him like that, was dead. Dead trying to save him. His Derek was dead and it was all his fault. Stiles wanted to cry, to scream, to curse but he couldn’t. All those things required Stiles to understand what was happening and he couldn’t. The bond that ran through him that connected him to Derek was still there, but he felt nothing from it. It was dull and burnt. Just like Derek. Stiles wanted to shake Derek, to hit him and tell him to get up and that this wasn’t funny but he couldn’t. He had no right to touch Derek, not now, not ever again.  
“Why?” Stiles thought he said that but he wasn’t sure. “Why did you jump? Why did you save me? Why?”  
“Stiles, if you can hear me, look at me.” Stiles heard the voice, but he didn’t recognize it. All he wanted to do now was sit here and protect Derek. God, what was he going to tell Derek’s family?  
“Stiles. Listen to me, not all is lost. There is a way to save him yet.” Stiles knew he heard this voice. It was the dream memory voice. It was stronger than before, clearer, more defined. This times, Stiles spoke back.  
“How?” This dream voice was rough and angry “How can you say that. He’s gone and it’s...it’s...it’s all my fault.” When the voice answered, it wasn’t soft and sensitive this time. This time, it sounded just like his father did when Stiles didn’t try hard enough at his lessons and complained they were too hard.  
“Listen here young man. The werekin burned to save you. That was his choice. Don’t you dare let that sacrifice suffer in vain by sitting here throwing yourself a pity party. You have the power and resources you need to save him. Now all you need is to believe that you can.” Stiles had the feeling of someone shaking their finger in his face like his grandmother use to do to his uncles. Blinking back tears of pain and frustration, Stiles lifted his head to find himself staring at a woman who was far too lovely for words to describe. She was radiant. Literally. Light all but poured off of her like she was a mini star and she was warm. The warmth of all the good and happy things in the world rolled into a single being. Stiles blinked, then blinked again. He knew this person. He’d known her for years. It was Giselle.  
“There we go. I knew you could do it.” The voice was sweet and musical. “Now Stiles, I’m going to help you stand up ok and then you and Allison and I and Royce and Lydia and Scott are going to help Derek, alright?” Stiles nodded, trying to get his feet under him as shining Giselle helped him up.  
“How?” Was all Stiles was able to say? Giselle smiled at him and reached into his back pocket and pulled out the ace in the sleeve Stiles had been keeping there. She handed it to Stiles.  
“I can think of a way.”

Stiles sat there holding the bone wand in one hand while Giselle smiled at him with that shining smile of hers. When did she and Royce grow so powerful? They were always strong, but this was an entirely new level of strong. It was as if they had reached the zenith of their power and wanted to share it with the world.  
“I don’t know if I can do this without the book,” Stiles said in a hushed voice. Royce had trotted over on his horse. Royce had never looked so good before. He looked like a Bowflex commercial. Standing next to Giselle, His blue aura complimented her rose colored one quite well.  
“That’s alright Stiles, it doesn’t need to be the same. That the great thing about ritual magic, you can literally make it up as you go along. You know what you want to do and Giselle, Scott, Lydia and I are here to help.” Stiles gaped at Royce.  
“Scott and Lydia are here too? Where?”  
“Behind you.” Came Lydia’s voice as she rode elegantly on the back of some sort of antelope and Scott rode in on an elk. Stiles could see both of their auras perfectly now. Lydia’s was a rich violet and Scott’s was a sunny grass green. Both of them seemed filled with so much life.  
“Is this the effect of the herd?” Stiles found himself asking out loud. The dream voice answered. “Not quite Child, this is the effect of the nemeton.”  
“Then why haven’t I sense it yet?” Stiles demanded back. The voice seemed to chuckle at him.  
“Since when can a Caster sense their own magic Governor?” Their own magic? Did that mean what he thought it meant? The sound of the fight soon filled his ears.  
“What’s going on?” Stiles asked frantically.  
“It sounds like a Hale brawl out there. The women of the current Hale Pack escorted us here and now are avenging Derek, I think.” Scott answered as he dismounted. Stiles looked around at all of his friends who were gathered there and then back down at Derek. He wiped at his eyes and tightened his hold on the wand. He looked each of them in the eye and asked.  
“Are you with me?”  
“Always.”

Royce lowered the shield. With Freebear unable to move, they weren’t in any danger of the druid at the moment and they needed the space to work. Each of the Casters took a position around the tree. Scott on the North, Lydia on the East, Giselle to the South and Royce to the West. Stiles stayed in the middle under the branches. He had used the wand to draw a circle around Derek big enough for Derek and two others to fit in. Stiles looked up at Allison.  
“Are you sure about this. This is as much your decision as it is mine. If this is successful, he will be bound to me as you are, connected as you are. You two will become connected as well.” Allison gave him a sharp stare then softened it into a smile.  
“You love him. You’ve hardly known him for two weeks and yet you love him.” Stiles blushed.  
“Maybe not love, at least not yet, but I think it will be there someday.” Allison nodded.  
“Then yes, I want to be apart of this. You’re important to me and I know I’m important to you. Derek has proven himself a valuable ally and friend and I will be proud to call him my brother.” Stiles was man enough to admit that he was misty-eyed from Allison’s response. Shaking his head to clear it, he turned his attention both to the tree and his magic.  
“Then let’s rock and roll baby.” Stiles raised his wand to the sky. Above him, a pale full moon had just risen.

“I speak to the world and ask for the world to listen. I speak to the sky and for the sky to listen. I speak to the sea and for the sea to listen. I speak to all those that dwell in magic and for them to listen.” The circle Stiles had drawn closed and power filled in around them. Stiles pointed at Lydia.  
“By the powers of the East, I call forth Wind and air to aid me.” Lydia’s magic blazed as she responded, her voice no longer her own but belonging to the spell.  
“From the east comes the wind, the power of the intellect and creativity. I hear your call and answer; I shall aid you.” Stiles pointed to the north and Scott.  
“By the powers of the North, I call forth Earth to aid me,” Scott responded in a similar manner to Lydia.  
“From the north comes the Earth, the power of strength and balance. I hear your call and answer: I shall aid you.” Stiles pointed to the West and Royce.  
“By the Powers of the West, I call forth Water to aid me.” Royce's magic flowed out of him and around him, filling the area with blue and green and white. Royce answered, his voice old and powerful. His tenor rang out and filled the clearing.  
“From the West comes Water, the power of healing and life. I hear thine call and answer Thee: I shall aid you.” and finally, Stiles pointed to Giselle.  
“By the powers of the South, I call forth Fire to aid me.” Just as Royce’s magic, Giselle’s soared and burned and filled the clearing with indescribable warmth. Pink and red and orange danced together and swirled around with Royce’s magic, soon capturing Lydia’s then Scott’s magic as well until all four magics were swirling and dancing together to create a circular aurora around the nemeton. Giselle answered.  
“From the South comes the Flame, the power of energy and will. I hear thine call and answer thee: I shall aid you.” As Giselle finished speaking, the combines magic began to spin around the tree. Slowly at first then faster and faster until it became a solid ring of light. Stiles pointed his wand at the moon and spoke one final verse.  
“From the moon comes magic, the power of creation and hope. I hear thine call and answer thee; I shall aid thee.” From the moon came a single ray that bathed the tree in silver.

Derek didn’t know where he was, nothing made sense at the moment. It was dark, empty, quiet and still. All things that made Derek and his wolf nervous. Derek wanted to call out, but his whole body hurt. It was all-consuming and made him wanted to scream. He didn’t remember much, everything became hazy after his fight started with Tabitha.  
“Great Goddess, that was Tabitha Hale.” His Grandmother’s stories did not do her justice. She was more vicious and cruel than he thought a wolf could possibly be. And what a fighter. Derek was bigger and stronger, but he could hardly keep the hag under him. It was like fighting the devil.  
“You know, you’re not the first person to say that. Most of the old packs would agree with you on that.” Derek started at the voice. It sounded like it had come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Derek tried to speak but couldn’t.  
“You remind me so much of him, right down to the stubbornness. Achilles might think it comes from him, but you are Sirius’s grandson down to your bones.” The sound that came next was most certainly a giggle.  
“Who are you? Where are you?” Derek tried to shout but couldn’t. The pain in his body was too much. Derek tried to move his head and found himself staring in the eyes of a woman he’d seen before but couldn’t remember where. The woman smiled and he remembered. Her picture was on the mantle on the fireplace.  
“Hello Derek, do you know who I am?” The woman spoke without opening her mouth. Derek nodded.  
“Evie. You’re Evelyn.”  
“That’s right.” Evelyn booped Derek on the nose just like his grandmama use to. “I was your family’s emissary during the days of blood and was the one that made it so Tabitha and her cronies couldn’t come back to Beacon Hills. They spent all those years trying to find a way back and just a few short years ago, found it.”  
“The druids?” Evelyn nodded and booped him in the nose again.  
“The druids. Deaton’s druids. It’s an interesting story, but we don’t have time for that right now. They’re waiting for us.”  
“Waiting? who is?” Derek didn’t realize he was standing now as was Evelyn. Evelyn smiled, it was so similar to something important to him, but he couldn’t remember.  
“Why The Lis Family of course.” And with that Evelyn, turned and ran with Derek following her.

Derek wasn’t sure why he was here but suddenly found himself in a small patch of woods that looked a lot like the preserve. Evelyn had disappeared and he wondering in the dark until stumbled upon a small clearing. In the center of the clearing stood a young woman.  
“Evelyn!” Derek wanted to shout as he ran towards the woman. It was only when he was a few feet away from her did he realize his mistake. This wasn’t Evelyn but Goddess did she look familiar. Her face, her nose, her eyes, her scent, all of it reminded him of someone. Someone important. Derek stopped as he reached the woman and the woman curtseyed to him. Derek returned the gesture with a bow. the woman laughed and clapped her hands together. Her smile was so infectious.  
“Oh you are a dashing one aren’t you and such manners. No wonder he wishes to this. I would too if I was still alive.” That last bit caused Derek to pale. The woman noticed this and smiled. “Do not worry Wilk, you are not dead, not yet. Your spirit still has some fight in it or else you would not have come here.”  
“Where is here exactly?” Derek tried to ask. he had found that his body didn’t hurt anymore, but he still couldn’t speak. The woman seemed to understand, though.  
“Where do you think we are Wilk.” Derek looked around and scented the air. It looked like the reserve, but it smelled different. Older, more powerful. Derek shook his head, not able to guess. The woman smiled at him. The skin around her eyes crinkling.  
“Look up.” Derek did and found himself staring at the largest moon he had ever seen. It took up most of the sky. What was the truly marvelous part was the color. It wasn’t white but pure silver.  
“Like Stiles.”  
“Yes, Wilk. Exactly like our Bronislaw.” Derek looked back at the woman and found himself surrounded by the scent of fox. Dozens of foxes appeared from out of the darkness and moved towards the center, towards the woman, towards him. As each fox neared, they changed into men and women, each of them smiling at him. The gathered behind the woman. Derek should have found the presence of all those people smiling at him unnerving, but it wasn’t, it was welcoming.  
“What is this?” Derek asked and in perfect unison, the fox people spoke,  
“You must chase the Moon from across the Sea to find a fox that will steal that which is most precious to you and replace it something more valuable than your life then you shall find happiness.” Derek stood there stupefied as they repeated the prophecy from the pig. The woman pointed behind Derek and he turned to find his wolf staring back at him. Behind him were more wolves, wolves he recognized. It was his pack, his family. Attached to each wolf was a red string that attached to his wolf. The string was pulled tight, almost to the breaking point and yet none of the wolves moved or seemed to notice expect his. Derek turned back to the fox people.  
“What is this?”  
“It is a choice, Wilk.” One of the people said, an elderly whip of a man. “You must choose. Stay as you are and never know his true desire or free him and allow him to fulfill it.”  
“What will happen if I do?” The fox people smiled again but didn’t answer. They didn’t have too. Derek knew exactly what would happen. Turning and walking to his wolf, he patted the animal's head and turned to face his pack.  
“I want you to know I love you. I always have and I always will. Nothing can change that.” Derek realized he could speak now, his voice strong yet tears filled his eyes “But I need this.” His pack seemed to understand and nodded their heads and howled a farewell as Derek shifted into his beta form and cut the strings attached to his wolf.

“Ready Allison?”  
“Ready Stiles.”  
The world went black again as Derek and his wolf stared at each other, not sure what to do when the voice of the fox woman filled his ears though he could not see her.  
“You have made your choice Wilk and they have made theirs. It is time. Promise me that you’ll always do what makes you happy. That will surely bring him happiness as well.”  
“I promise.” Derek and his wolf said in unison. Derek knew that the woman and all the fox people were smiling at him as were the wolves of his pack though he could no longer sense them. A moment later, A single ray of silver light filled the darkness. It was far away, but Derek knew he could make it. He began to run, his wolf keeping pace. As he got closer, he could feel himself getting more excited. happiness filled him and his wolf who leaped around with joy as the light got closer and closer. Soon both man and wolf were howling with joy as they entered the silver light and felt the warm embrace of arms around him. He was home.

Tabitha Hale looked on in stupid shock as all of her plans were literally disappearing in a beam of light. The golden ring around the tree and the silverlight consuming the tree merged into one and erupted. The power caused her to be slammed into the nearest tree. All around her, the sound of fighting stopped. Wolves turned back into women as glorious power filled the clearing. The herd, the god damned herd, erupted from the trees and started to leap and run and folic around the pillar of light. The hellfire had been extinguished and from the ashes, new trees were beginning to grow. This couldn’t be happening. All of her hard work, her plans ruined by a stupid little boy. She was brilliant and yet this was the second time a Stilinski had made a fool of her. Never again, she had sworn to herself and not everything was over yet. She could still win if she just killed the boy. She ran, straight into the pillar of light. Past the druid lesbo who was still one the ground and past Freebear, the fool, who was still struggling to get up. She was going to make it, she was going to win. Tabitha Hale would finally, finally get what was coming to her. And she did. The great silver wolf that came charging out of the pillar of light ran slammed right into her, knocking her to the ground and with a mighty bellowing howl, ripped out her throat with his sparkling white teeth. Thus ended the ruin that was Tabitha Hale.

(Stilinski House)  
Stiles woke up in his bed in his house to the sound of humming. He searched around his spacious room to find Derek Hale alive. Gloriously Alive. Healthy and hale (forgive the pun) and looking over a book. It took Stiles a moment to realize that that was his photo album of his baby pictures.  
“Great, now I wish I had been the one to burn up.” Derek turned to him, a dazzling smile on his face as he came over to the Caster.  
“Good Morning Bronislaw.” Stiles blushed. The way Derek said his name was far too sexy for this early in the morning. Still, Derek was alive and that’s all that mattered.  
“Good Morning Derek, how are you feeling?” In response, Derek started to flex his impressive muscles which did things to Stiles that were far too noticeable. Stiles blushed and Derek chuckled. Derek then sat next to Stiles on the bed and kissed him gently on the lips. Stiles blinked in confusion then leaned in for another kiss which Derek happily agreed to. The two spent a good 10 minutes kissing when the door swung open hard and Allison stood there, looking annoyed and slightly flustered.  
“Must you two do that so early in the morning. It’s not even 9:00 am yet.”  
“Sorry Allison.” Derek and Stiles said in unison as Allison came into the room, closing the door behind her.  
“So what happened?” Stiles asked after Allison situated herself. Derek shrugged.  
“You saved me. You both did, I think. As to what happened after I kill Tabitha, I don't know. You and Allison, Scott and Lydia and Giselle and Royce were all on the ground and my mother’s pack managed to keep you guys safe as The Circle came and rescued you. I’m guessing your friends are all at their homes recovering.”  
“Recovering? How long were we out?” Stiles turned to Allison who blushed.  
“5 days.”  
“5 days? Wait wait wait, what happened? What about school? What about the Questing Beasts?” Allison shrugged.  
“I’m guessing school got canceled and you’ll need to talk to your mom and dad about the town. It’s a mess and it’s going to take us a while to get it back together.” Allison stood up. “Now if you excuse me, I have things that must be done and unlike some people, I’m not going to laze about all day.” Allison headed to the door. Derek called after her.  
“Thank you, Allison.” Allison stopped and turned and smiled.  
“You’re Welcome Derek.” Then she left.

Derek and Stiles sat in comfortable silence for a while after Allison left, But Stiles being Stiles, he couldn’t last too long like that.  
“Derek?”  
“Yes, Bronislaw?”  
“Are you truly feeling better.” Derek gave him a soft smile.  
“Better than I have in a long time.” Derek took Stiles’s hand in his and kiss it. “You saved me, in all the ways that matter. I am yours now. In mind, body and soul.” Stiles blushed before squealing and throwing himself into Derek’s arms.  
“Please drop the Bronislaw and just call me Stiles, ok?”  
“Will do Stiles.” Stiles grinned and started laughing. Derek joined in. He couldn’t help it. He had found his bright light in a dark place.


End file.
